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WHITNEY LIBRARY, 


MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 
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THE 


INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER: 


REVIEW OF NATURAL HISTORY, 


MICROSCOPIC RESEARCH, 


AND 


RECREATIVE SCIENCE, 


VOLUME V., 


ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES IN COLOURS AND TINTS, AND NUMEROUS 
ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. 


LONDON: 


GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 
PATERNOSTER ROW. , 


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CONTENTS, 


—_+—_——_. 
A New Barrise Fonevs. By the Rev. M. J. Berxenzy, M.A., F.LS. 
WO ONCGOUFED PUREE, Mend sities tadeee ns nidecca tease cdoe nee cescddeteseasrsle tes 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE THREE-SPINED SrickieBack—I7s Ova AND FRY. 
By J. WH. Horsrann, With an [llustration,.....c0e.cecscscsseees esas dele : 
THE i een ANACALYPTA AND Portia. By M. G. CaMPBELL............... 
A WINDFALL FoR THE Microscorr. By the Hon. Mrs. Warp. With a 
Coloured Plate ........0-. een aeeeeatisciionstieteauisctiecinevinsat sites cemecinnaits 30.00 
MINSTRELS OF THE WINTER. By SHIRLEY EERE BRD A a A 
Sant MaRsHES AND THEIR InHaBrrants. By Guorcz 8. Brapy, M.R.CS. 
OpricaL GHOSTS ...... ASibrcrcnbey adosndodarsanseon bachiconnoancunpponcnaedounddsobosdoed 
Meme) RUENS OH) COPAN> ,....cc;ecuersadeaneetans Be iaidelneeaAacharnnh oaetenauarhetene tes 
RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT THE Kzw 
OBSERVATORY. By G. M. WHIPPLE ...........c.csc0e0s npndcapoanooascehacne ; 
We NEVER SEE THE STARS... .cic5cccceedcesenesevesccns ap uenereatica SOUSEY NEES ; 
GREEN dion “By Henry SnA0K, BiGiS ie. ee ee I, 
Crusters AND’ Nesut=. Dovsrs Star. GREAT NEBULA IN Orton. 
CoMPARISON OF SUN AND Stars. Occunration. By the Rev. T. W. 
Wirnpy MAL BRAS. (Withee Diagram... 16. 
Tun Dentition oF Britise Moxzvsca. By the Rev. G. Rows, M.A. 
WN GULCH EET OG OS IR eRe oea he een seein otha sone etc cicawehertees coats 
AUTOMATIC WEIGHING OF GOLD AND SILVER PLANCHETS AT THE RoyaL 
Mint. By JosepH Newton. With an Lllustration............00.sc000s 
THe EARTHQUAKE AT Mernpoza, 20TH Maron, 1861. By Wintiam 
BowwaErr. With a Tinted Plate... cecccccccccecscccscccseccessent Socuccaadin 4 
THE Mipyieut Sun. By Tomas W. Borer, F.R.AS., F.C.S. oo... A 
MossEs—GRIMMIA AND Scuistipivm. By M. G. CampBeLn. With an 
LUSTIG Tee ROT NR date doe Aer Ee ote ee aioe ucdentegeeaeee pooseeande 
GUNS AND PROJECTILES ....... See ARE Nar eh Mie Maat eae Ameer Marr 
ABROLITHS WITH Low VELOCKLIES..c...cccccesesssessssesssevastesssessutetcaesentes 
THE WIND aND ITs Diggction. By H. J. Lows, F.R.A.S., F.L.8S. With 
LUGUSEROTROW SSS satactseot tar Sree MAMAS ce a ids Adon cag ROR Naas daetono et 
Constancy oF Soran Ligur anp Hat. By ALEXANDER 8. HERSCHEL, 
BAA csccbsisneantees Sooner ibeeheagh eababsnaneeeeee tee Guoofaprensedaeeabeed 
TSANEar AnD Gime RCTS Rea RT Si SBS OAR IY GELS ON 
Crusters ap Nesune. Dovsie Srars. Occunrations. "By the Rev. 
TE Wis WEE BB, AMD GAs 5 AUR FANS 2 a cet cen npicranerent on tutee seelelsaeaetoah aeieloetvaeli'e sles 
Ea@G PARASITES AND THEIR RELATIVES. By the Rev. M. J. BERKELBy, 
MEAS GSO Waele Pitted, Plate eee ee ee a 
Puorograpay—Its History, Position, anD Prospects. Part I. By J. 
CMMs ME CT IGG cai tetolriatanri ae, wsueishseadas AMaelvlcld ok a view oueantdattts cna bec > Ate 
OzONE AND Ozone Txsts, “By m5. Lowe, Esq. iy ERA S., F.G.S., ete... 
PorTABLE EQuatorEats. By Wittram C. Borper, F.R. A. (Sb s.utdeweameneee 
On rae Anorenr Laxe Hasrravions oF SWITZERLAND. By Haney 
Woopwarb, F.Z.8. With a Tinted Plate ........ccccccececsceeeeeecsececeee 
VORACITY OF THE ASPLANCHNA, AND ITs StomMacH Currents. By ‘Henry 
OME, EME ii sactesceaceitvextead PINTS nactidaanisoaot athboeNbrundacn 6 
- Tue FounDaTrons OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE .......0cscssceeeees socoérad adoupbtsenege 
THe Moon. Praners or THE Monto. DovusiE STAR. OCCULTATIONS. 
By the Rev. T. W. Wzss, M.A., F.R.A.S........c. eens Gacadeneaeanneneste: 3 
THe EXTINGUISHER Mosszs. By M. G. CMMEE BRT os mance quad eeaueasetaee . 
Our ATMOSPHERE AND THE THER OF SPACE ............ Rae tbat seasareuess : 
Ancaorine Moniusks. By W. NEWTON MACOARTNEY .........cceceeceeeen ee ‘ 


PAGE. 


iv Contents. 


AGE. 
Tse Natrersack Toap In IrELAND. By the Hon. Mrs. Warp. Witha 

SOBRE CEMAEE 3. Say onic otes ines taps cesmslv ecLod acwibes cacloe dese see eeeeeee senate 237 
PxHoroGRaPuic Processes. By J. W. M‘GAULEY ..............cebecessseeeeens 233 
A Cueap OpservaTory. By Freperick Birp. With Tiisivations Sa oe 241 
Crcaps. By Joun R. Jackson. With a Tinted Plate...........ccccccccceeee 246 
Discovery or Porson Organs IN Fisnes. Communicated by HENRY 

WVOODWARD, HUZiSs.)cdevacces csabenansiiapnsnmaes vacsecteesamre dese scenes eee 253 
Mossts To BE FounD In May—Corp- Mosszs AnD APPLE-Mosszs. By M. 

Rf ACAMER BEE caw. nipac ces supapsnnsSeneh xsaysdsce tues s Sscegabndanes ttveceesseaeeam 258 


Motecurar Mortons 1n Livine Bovres. By Henry J.Sxack, F.G.S8.... 269 
THE PHOSPHATES USED IN AGRICULTURE. By Dz. T. L. PHIPSON, F.C.S., 


DONDBN 4 iis dodleteciebew sie sehen Sedna a Aone 273 
Snow Crrstats. By E. J. Lows, Esq., F.R.A. 8. With Illustrations...... 279 
RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MaDE aT THE KEW OBSER- 

Waromy EyiGo  WWeRPEE, s2) 5 ott... .cathopnenuies Sake edac. eeaths aeeeee 284 
Srar-FoLLowine With TaBiE Stanps. By Rev. E. L. Bertuon, M.A.... 290 
Sonar OBSERVATION. TRANSIT OF JUPITER'S SATELLITES. By the Rey. 

TD. Wid WEBB Sy MEAG, TOR AgGa sata). cdeiten coh aieadeate mancwban 2308s somes 292 
Tux CaDDIS-worM AND ITs Houses. By EizabeTH Mary SMEE. With 

i WAOMHIREE DPLALE Faun dvacith anny setnanvaceeeeen ascesas ancasey yee Sees 307 
KEW OBSERVATORY (.....2decsesecesiidsacse chidabecelin: deem okie BunWiaabe dese ednewn deena 318 
THE HARTH AS SEEN FROM THE MOON ....ccccccscccecsccevcveccscecevence sessecece O24 
BEGENT MICROSCOPIC ITERATURE, .. cxoso0-sssnsmoncnnonanndadsnemaasens «diden decane 328 
Exogenous SEEDS AND FERN Spores. By R. Dawson, M.B. Lonpon. 

Wsthite, Dinted Plirte ie, se neen bs... skin sda sa th ides « amg th eal ae « hee 333 


Star Fottowine. By Rey. E. L. Bertnon, M.A. With an Illustration 338 
A Surpposep New Acineta. By H. J. Snack, F.G.S. With an Illustration 340 


GAUTIER ON THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE SUN ........ceccccececececes 345 
Tue Dipuncuvs, or Lirrte Dopo. By W. B. TEGETMEIER ............... 346 
RECREATIONS IN NATURAL HisTORY Sabbheeddies acaladgers tae eee ubinrlek ate cakmeee 351 
Bass HGNOLIONS: OF AR Dyes sae vinid Saeod et. Boe eo ao ARR R AION, «aR ln ceed cate 306 


NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE LUNAR Spot, MARE CrIsiuM. JUPITER’S SATEL- 
LITES. OccuLTations. By the Rev. T. W. Wess, M.A., F.R.A.S... 359 
Comets. AN ACCOUNT oF ALL THE COMETS WHOSE ORBITS HAVE NOT 
BEEN CALCULATED. By G. F. CHAMBERS ...........ccceccececsccececes 218, 373 
On THE Herrinc. By W. Newron Maccartney, Cor. Src. G. N.S. ... 368 
Tue Natvrat History oF THE HarRy-BACKED ANIMALCULES (CHZTONO- 


TIDE). By Puinie Henry Gossz, F.R.S. With Two Plates ......... 387 
Tue Four-Hornep Trunk Fish: a Native oF En@uanp. By JonaTHAN 

COUCH, WU) REC, 2 cy oiscoscarnss savas oessaassap cpp bacttess] >? aks ce aaa 407 
Tue SrpE-FRurtine Mossxs. By M.G. CampBetu. With an Illustration... 410 
TAOS ABOUT LROW S02. 4.5 dees cdvchocstunscesncacaskinaredeatus as tinea ae 419 


THE REMARKABLE WEATHER OF THE EARLY SuMMER oF 1864, aT THE 

Higurizrp Hovsz Oxsrrvatory. By E. J. Lows, Esq, F.R.AS., 

BO ie oais ti Moves rie tine de cate aatioad cteeaee eer aoe iit odes ame CU eRe scabies 425 
MAGNUS ON THE CONDENSATION OF VAPOURS........csessecscsceecsccceceeecence — 432 
Sorar OxssErvaTion. CoLours or Srars, CoNsTITUTION OF NEBUL®. 

TRANSITS OF JUPITER'S SaTELLITES. By the Rey. T. W. Wess, 


Bis VE GH EUG ARDS! oy ale Sethe dpee tau tccut iia ten cat ebad hasee rs Sce A434 
Tur RomsEy OBSERVATORY. By the Rey. E. L. Bertuon. With Tilus- 

ER CEONE. 15 cbs aids itd’ ths Gas DANS WEKEE CHAK Ol w Te Ald USE td ERs WaT EE a 445 
On THE OnrcIn oF THE LIGHT OF THE SUN AND STAns. By BaLrour 

Stewart, MLA., FBS. ......ccondessees babes axindh ee laces Mec ath oateae tne aan 448 
LITERARY Noriczs . vuRT SISAL UTED RAL AAS CRORES ea veied Tan's pure enemmisat afore cases 375, 455 
PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES ...........005. pat 62, 141, 221, 299, 380, 457 


Notes AnD MEMORANDA............ basics ccmehen ts Haak 64, 145, 225, 304, 383, 465 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


—= 
ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOURS. 


PAGE 
Tremella nostoc, Chironomus plu- Natterjack Toad . . . + « 227 
mosus, Phryganea grandis, etc.. 13 | Cases of the Caddis-worm . . 307 


TINTED PLATES. 


Sparassis crispa, Rhizina undulata 1 on the Sites of Ancient Lake 
Palates of Mollusca. . . .:- 67 Dywrellineay sj os) ab. <7 cell ed, MO 
Ruins of Mendoza . .. . . 85 | Cycads .. : = ll ete eee 


Egg Parasites . . . . 147 | Germination of "Fern ‘Spores . . 334 
Implements and Ornaments found Hairy-backed Animalcules (Pl. L) 394 
» 0 » (Pl. IL.) 402 


ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. 7 


Three-spined Stickleback . » « 4 | Snow Crystals . . . . » © » 281 
Anacalypta Starkeana . . . . se Star Following. . . . .. . 388 
Nebulain Orion . . Supposed new Acinefa . . . . 341 
Weighing Balance used at the Mint 3 | Silk-spinning Gnat » 2 6 2 88 


Grimmia orbicularis . . . . . 107 | Faggots for Propagating Oysters . 354 
Atmospheric Recorder 126, 127, 128 | Breeding Troughs for hatching 
Index Map of Moon. . . . . 190 eggs of Crustacea . . . « « 355 
Diagram of portion of Moon’s Disc 197 | Four-horned Trunk Fish . . . 407 
Encalypta vulgaris . . . . . 207 | Fontinalis antipyretica . . . . 410 
Cheap Observatory . . . . . 248 | Romsey Observatory .. . 
Diagrams of Spots onthe Sun . 450 


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2. Rhizina undulata. 


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THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER. 


FEBRUARY, 1864. 


A NEW BRITISH FUNGUS. 
_ BY THE REY. M. J. BERKELEY, M.A., F.L.S. 
(With a Coloured Plate.) 


THoucH so much has been done since the conclusion of the 
Cryptogamic part of the English Flora in 1837 towards 
forming a perfect list of British Fungi, the experience of the 
present abnormal season shows that there still remains much to 
reward diligent research. Not only has Mr. Broome, amongst 
other novelties, added to our list almost all the curious and 
beautiful species of Ascobolus described by the Messrs. Crouan, 
of Brest—a dung-borne genus distinguished by the curious pro- 
perty of partially ejecting the little sausage-like sacs, or asci, 
which contain the sporidia—while Wales and Scotland have 
made some welcome additions to our list; but the Rev. G. H. 
Sawyer has shown that many of the nobler forms which adorn 
the pine forests of the Continent may still be expected to occur 
in the more southern districts. In company with AHydnwm 
imbricatum, one of the most striking of British fungi, though a 
rare inhabitant of our fir woods, he finds an equally large species, 
Hydnum levigatum, together with the beautifully tinted 
Hydnum tomentosum, and H. zonatum, of which the two 
former are new to this country; and, in addition to these, 
Lilizina undulata, equally novel and remarkable for its 
fine fruit, of which, together with the plant itself, we 
give a sketch. But, besides these objects of interest, and 
others which we refrain from enumerating, he has contributed 
to our Fungology the genus Sparassis, a genus so striking that 
Fries declares that Sparassis crispa, the species which has 
occurred near Maidenhead, is the most beautiful of all the 
fungi he has ever seen. Without pledging our taste quite so 
far, we consider the object so beautiful, in addition to its 
VOL. V.—NO. I. B 


2 A New British Fungus. 


superior esculent qualities, that it seems worthy of an especial 
notice in the INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER. 

Most of our readers are acquainted with the little tufts of 
white, cylindrical bodies, which occur in profusion on our close- 
shaved lawns im autumn, looking like little bundles of wax 
tapers. They belong to Clavaria vermicularis, one of the 
simplest forms of the genus Clavaria, which contains a large 
number of esculent species, amongst which the little candles, 
though small, are not to be despised when dressed in little 
faggots, like bundles of asparagus. Other species of the genus * 
are simple and club-shaped, others branched, and some to such 
a degree that they look like little shrubs divested of their 
leaves. Some are even, and some much wrinkled; and, though 
a few are slightly compressed, they never assume the form of 
_ foliaceous expansions, though a neighbouring genus, once con- 
founded with it, but distinguished by its more leathery con- 
sistence, departs from the cylindrical type. They exhibit the 
most various hues, as white, golden yellow, rose, amethyst, 
grey, orange, with many intermediate tints. 

The genus, Sparassis, the name of which is derived from 
orapatrw, “I tear or lacerate,” with the fleshy consistence of 
Clavaria and similar esculent characters, has flattened lamina, 
which are in every part covered with the fructifying surface, or 
hymenium. In Thelephora and the closely allied genus, 
Sterewm, in which the divisions are often much flattened and 
expanded, there is not only a leathery consistence, but 
the hymenium is definite, being confined to the lower 
surface. — 

In Sparassis the lobes are extremely large and numerous, 
so as to form a rounded and sometimes hemispherical mass, 
occasionally a foot or more in diameter, with a height of several 
inches ; which, together with a delicate waxy appearance, ren- 
der the species most striking objects. The habit is somewhat 
similar to that of Millepora reticulata, an analogy which is not 
without example amongst other Lithophytes; in which, as 
Fries remarks, we find forms which remind us of such genera as 
Agaricus, Boletus, Hydnum, Clavaria, Peziza, etc. Similar re- * 
semblances occur amongst the galls on leaves produced by 
insects, which accordingly haye been confounded by superficial 
observers, even since the principles of Fungology have been 
better known, with true fungi. 

Sparassis laminosa, which may be considered as the type of 
the genus, has not yet occurred in this country. It is found on 
old oak stumps, or amongst oak chips, and acquires the size of 
a large cauliflower. When pure in colour and young it is ex- 
cellent, but it soon acquires a yellow tinge and disagreeable 
smell, and is then wholly unfit for food. The laming are very 


A New British Fungus. - 3 


large and broad, springing from a very short stem, and are 
narrow and wedge-shaped below, but- dilated above, and con- 
fluent with each other in every direction. 

Sparassis crispa, though sometimes attaining a considerable 
size, is on a smaller scale. The laminee are more rounded and 
leaf-like, though curled, and folded, and variously*lobed and 
laciniate, with a crest-like margin, and springing from a well- 
marked, thick, rooting stem, the greater part of which is sunk 
in the soil. The hymenium is more or less uneven, and 
rather wrinkled, or rough, with little wart-like elevations. In 
decay the margin becomes soft, acquiring first a yellow, then a 
brownish tinge, and finally the whole forms a loathsome mass. 
Like all other esculent fungi, those specimens only are fit for 
use in which there is not the shghtest tendency to decay. 

Sparassis crispa, which was found in a fir wood in south- 
east Berkshire, between the Asylum for Criminals and the 
Wellington College, where there is much fern and heath, occurs 
in several parts of Hurope. It is rare in Sweden, but more 
common in Germany, especially about Prag, where it is fre- 
quently brought for sale to the market. It also occurs in 
France in the provinces bordering on the Rhine, where it is 
said by Roques to be highly valued. We have not heard of its 
being used in Hungary, nor does it occur ina large collection of 
fungi gathered in the neighbourhood of Schemnitz. 

It is scarcely probable that it will be found in this country 
in sufficient quantities to make it an article of food, but in case 
it should be found plentiful, we subjoin Roques’ “ indications” 
for its preparation, which apply equally to true species of 
Clavaria, to which genus, indeed, it is referred by Roques, in 
this following Wulfen, who described it in Jacquin’s Miscellanea 
Austriaca. Scheeffer referred it previously to Hlvella, with a 
less correct appreciation of its affinities. 

“The plant,” says Monsieur Roques, “should be well 
cleaned from any particles of soil which may adhere to it, then 
washed in warm water and thoroughly drained, after whidl it 
should be baked with butter, parsley, a little eschallot, or a soup- 
con of garlic, and seasoned with pepper and salt. When tender, 
cream and yelks of eggs should be added. While baking, a 
few spoonfuls of stock or broth may be added occasionally, to 
make it more tender. In Austria it is simply fried in butter, 
and seasoned with sweet basil. 


4 Observations on the Three-Spined Stickleback. 


OBSERVATIONS ON THE THREE-SPINED STICKLE- 
BACK—ITS OVA AND FRY. 


GASTEROSTEUS ACULEATUS.—Linneus and Bloch. 
GASTEROSTEUS SPINULOSUS.—Yarrell, Br. F. vol. i. 


BY J. H. HORSFALL. 
(With an Tllustration.) 


Tae taste for aquaria may not be so fashionable as it was some 
time ago, but the taste for pisciculture is at fever heat, and I 
know of no object more interesting to the microscopist than 
the ova and fry of fish. 

Those who may not be able to procure fecundated ova of 
salmon or trout, may yet derive as much amusement and in- 
struction by examining the ova of inferior fish, and by studying 
its development be able to follow the scientific lecturer in his 
description of the ova and fry of the more valuable kinds. 

I am induced to make these remarks from having, on the 
ard of June last, found several nests of the three-spined stickle- 
back in a small brook near Leeds, which, after leaving Adel 
Dam, runs through the village of Meanwood, at which place it 
receives the refuse of some large tanneries, in which polluted 
water the nests appeared to be as abundant as in the purer 
water nearer the source of the brook. 


THREE-SPINED STICKLEBACK, EIGHT DAYS OLD. 


oe 


NATURAL SIZE, 


The nests were about four or five yards apart, and guarding 
each nest was a male stickleback, and it was easy to see at 
a glance which fish was the master tyrant of the colony, his 
colours being much brighter and more vivid than the others in 
his immediate vicinity could show; the back a rich green, 
growing darker towards the tail; inside the lower jaw, and 
along the gill covers and belly, a vivid red; the eye deep blue, 
with a rich deep black pupil, the fins appearing nearly 
transparent. 

I secured the most brilliant-coloured male fish I could find, 
and the nest he was guarding ; it was full of ova, in which 


Observations on the Three-Spined Stickleback. 5 


could be seen plamly the eyes of the embryo fry. On 
reaching home, however, I found the colour of the fish much 
duller, and the green on the back had changed to a dusky 
blue. 

In Mr. Couch’s History of the Fishes of the British Islands, 
vol. i. p. 167,* is a most interesting account of the habits of 
this fish, especially its pugnacious disposition. For this reason 
I placed in the same vessel with the nest and the male fish 
three females. At once the male began a furious attack on the 
trio, chasing them about, seizing the most weakly by the tail, 
dragging it half round the vessel, rising with it to the surface 
of the water, as if to force it out ; sometimes he would seize it by 
the pectoral fin, and turn it violently on its side, continuing these 
attacks incessantly, until, in twelve hours, the weakest female 
died ; the next died in about six hours after the first. During 
these attacks the females acted only on the defensive, by pro- 
jecting the ventral spines, and could they have received him 
on the sharp point of one of these weapons, such was the force 
with which he swam at the female, that death to the tyrant 
must have immediately followed. The male was very bold; 
he would follow the feather with which I removed the newly- 
hatched fry, and if the fry escaped off the feather, he seized his 
infant fish, and devoured it at once. From the first dead 
female I abstracted some immature ova, which he pounced 
upon the moment I placed them in the water; then he blew 
out a portion, re-caught it as it descended, and again ejected a 
portion to renew his attack on the second dying female. When 
resting from his attacks on the other fish, he invariably hovered 
with his nose close to the hole of the nest, with tail considerably 
elevated, and blew a strong current of water through the 
nest by means of his pectoral fins. 

The nest is curiously formed, but not of such minute particles 
as those described in Mr.Couch’s account. One piece of withered 
grass measured seven inches, and was so interwoven with the 
rest as to drag the whole nest some distance before I could 
extricate it. To save the life of the surviving female, I put her 
into a separate vessel, and as soon as the male found himself 
alone he swam round the nest several times, forming it into 
shape by the rapid action of his pectoral fins ; at short intervals 
he plunged his nose into the opening as if to clear it, and 
resumed his position, hovering over the nest, and forcing water 
ina strong current through it. His dorsal spines were now 
laid back so as to be hardly visible; when, however, he was 
attacking the females these spines were constantly erect. He 
often took the empty crusts of the hatched ova, as well as the 


* A History of the Fishes of the British Islands. By Jonathan Couch, Esq., 
F.L.S. London: Groombridge and Sons. 


6 Observations on the Three-Spined Stickleback. 


fry that had died in the hatching, into his mouth, but instantly 
ejected them. 

The fry began to hatch out the day I got the nest; three 

ova hatched while under examination with the microscope. First 
I saw distinctly the entire fish curled up in the shell of the 
ovum; a convulsive movement, and the tail protruded, and, by 
a continuance of these convulsions, the entire fish freed itself 
from the crust of the ovum in about twenty-five minutes after 
the crust was first ruptured ; in some instances the head and tail 
protruded simultaneously, in which case the crust of the ovum 
remained round the fry like an awkward belt, which was not 
got rid of under forty-eight hours. 
_ The newly-hatched fry is a quarter of an inch long, and is 
furnished with a transparent membrane, like the fry of salmon 
and trout. This membrane commences where the anterior dorsal 
fin in the adult fish is seen, and continues unbroken till it 
reaches a short way over the umbilical vesicle, where it ter- 
minates. Inside this membrane, forming the outline of the fish 
itself, a very fine dark brown line extends all round the fish, 
and inside this a faint double streak of a pale orange colour. 
These orange lines are blood-vessels, and, with a high power, 
the blood-discs can be clearly seen running from and to the 
heart, which is situated just under the lower jaw, its colour light 
red, its beat rapid, the mouth of the fish opening with every 
pulsation of the heart; the eyes as well as the head are large, 
the latter covered with several irreeular dark brown spots. On 
the day after hatching, the fish assumes much more colour, 
losing its transparency, so that the flow of blood in the body 
is not so clearly seen; but in the umbilical vesicle, which is 
becoming rapidly absorbed, the flow of blood in its numerous 
vessels is very visible. The incessant motion of the pectoral 
fins suggests the fluttering of a phantom, they are so transpa- 
rent. 

On the third day after hatching, the fry is much more 
covered, especially on the head, with dark brown spots, having 
deeply serrated edges; some of these spots also appear on the 
umbilical vesicle. Through this colour the heart is no longer 
visible, nor any blood-vessels, except those between the rays of 
the pectoral fins, which are losing their transparency, and, are 
at times for a moment stationary. Tho eyes as well as the 
head occasionally move, the mouth continually opens and shuts ; 
the outer circle of the eye can be perceived through the micro- 
scope. ‘lhe fry now are very active, often swimming to the sur- 
face of the water, then sinking gradually to the bottom, when, — 
after a short rest, they dart rapidly about again. 

_ On the fourth, fifth, and sixth day after hatching, my infant 
sticklebacks make little progress ; the umbilical vesicle is gra- 


Observations on the Three-Spined Stickleback. 7 


dually being absorbed, the spots on the body show less serrated 
edges, and are deeper in colour; the entire surface of the fish 
is stained rather than coloured a cinnamon brown ; the envelop- 
ing membrane is much reduced in places, especially at what 
will form the root of the caudal fin. 

On the seventh day the rays of the anal fin begin to 
appear, six imperfect rays of a brown colour being visible under 
the microscope ; the lower jaw alone maintains its transparency. 
On the eighth day, the markings of the anal fin are more per- 
fect, the membrane is much narrower, except where the spies 
and fins in the adult fish are seen ; four days after this, or on 
the twelfth day, the first formation of the caudal fin is seen, also 
the protrusion of the ventral spines. 

Notwithstanding a daily change of water, on the thirteenth 
day my infant sticklebacks were attacked by a parasite, in- 
visible to the naked eye, but, when magnified, it was ad- 
hering to the membrane which still encircled the fish. This 
membrane showed clearly the ravages of the invader, bemg 
torn in several places, and by this I lost my whole stock, losing 
first their activity and in twelve hours, life. 

It was my intention to have ascertained how long after 
fecundation the ova remain before the fry are hatched, and 
the different periods that elapse in the development of the 
dorsal and ventral spines, and also the dorsal, caudal, and anal 
fins; this I am obliged to defer to another season. I have, 
however, seen enough to prove that the delightful study of 
pisciculture may be successfully followed without practismg on 
the ova of valuable fish like the salmon and trout, for quite 
sufficient resemblance exists between the development of the 
ova and fry of the insignificant sticklebacks and the king of 
fresh-water fishes, that he who studies the inferior may easily 
understand the greater. 


oa The Mosses Anacalypta and Pottia. 


THE MOSSES ANACALYPTA AND POTTIA, 
BY M. G. CAMPBELL. 


FEBRUARY, with its chilling breezes, its sleety storms, its leafless 
trees, and its oft snowy lawns, while it seems to freeze the 
young buds of the tall trees, and hang their boughs with 
icicles, yet spares the lowly mosses, and gives some of the 
most minute and delicate strength to ripen their tiny fruits. 

Of these, the genus Anacalypta stands foremost, deriving 
its name from dva, above, and KaXvTTos, covered, in allusion to 
the circumstance that the calyptra remains on the capsule until 
the spores are perfectly ripe, which is, doubtless, a provision 
of nature against the inclemency of the season. 

The members of this, like those of its sub-genus Pottva, 
named in honour of Professor Pott, of Brunswick, are small, 
chiefly annual or biennial mosses, loosely gregarious, growing 
upon newly-exposed soil, and occasionally upon walls in low- 
land districts. The two sections are exceedingly similar in 
mode of growth, in fruit, in the form and structure of the 
leaves, and in the inflorescence; but differ in the Pottias being 
without a peristome, while the Anacalyptas proper are furnished 
with a peristome, which consists of a single row of sixteen 
teeth, united at the base by a narrow membrane, plane, lanceo- 
late or imperfectly divided into two portions, or perforated ; 
occasionally, however, incomplete or fragmentary, and without a 
medial line. The spores, too, are rather smaller than in Pottia. 

On banks and in fields in the middle and south of Britain, 
those who wish to investigate this interesting group may find 
the beautiful little Anacalypta Starkeana, (Stark’s Anacalypta), 
of which we give a magnified illustration ; the 
natural size of the plant being less than one 
line in height of stem, and, when in fruit, with a 
seta of about equal length; but in this, as in 
other respects, the species is variable, for in the 
same tuft may be found specimens with fruit- 
stalks twice as long as others. It will, however, 
admirably serve as a type of both sections of this 
genus; indeed, it has puzzled muscologists to 
determine to which section it should properly 
be given, the presence or absence of a peris- 
tome being the chief difference between it and 
Pottia minutula, or the dwarf Pottia, variety 
conica, Which might almost be called a toothless he fee a 
Anacalypta Starkeana ; and, if we may judge by nara ai 
the variety of names that have been conferred upon it, as 
A. Starkeana by Nees and Hornshuch, Bruch and Schimper ; 


The Mosses Anacalypta and Pottia,  - a 


Pottia Starkeana, by C. Miller; Grimmia Starkeana, by 
Smith and others; Bryum minutum, by Dickson; and 
Weissia affinis by Hooker and Taylor; while Wilson con- 
fesses that he “dare not pronounce them” (the two mosses, 
Anacalypta Starkeana and Pottia minutula) “ distinct, having 
examined numberless intermediate forms, which pass insensibly 
from the one to the other.’ We shall, perhaps, be ready to 
exclaim, ‘‘ Who shall decide where doctors disagree ?”* Yet 
we conceive that, if gathered during the present month, before 
there is a chance of the peristome being lost, which may be 
more fugatious than hitherto suspected; and if due attention 
be paid to the position of the foliage, that of P. minutula being 
more erect and appressed to the stem in a dry state, in all the 
- specimens we have examined, as well as having the lower leaves 
frequently of a reddish hue, there may be less difficulty in de- 
ciding on its proper name and location. 

Having thus shown that the peculiar form of the fruit and 
foliage is sufficiently characteristic of the whole family, genus, 
and sub-genus, we now proceed to describe Anacalypta Starke- 
ana more particularly. 

As we have already said, its length of stem is less than 
one twelfth of an inch, within which stature it bears two kinds 
of leaves, the lower ones less, of an ovate acuminate form ; the 
upper ones larger, oblong acuminate, or lanceolate, carimato- 
concave, the margin recurved, the reddish nerve excurrent, 
and forming a short mucro at the apex of the leaf, very seldom 
discontinued below it, all of them spreading; the areolz small 
and roundish, like the perforations of a very fine pm or needle 
point, larger at the base, the capsule oval, with rather thin 
walls of a shining chestnut-brown, sometimes regularly striped 
with lines of a deeper tint; the lid conical and obtuse ; annulus 
persistent ; teeth of the peristome usually of a pale red or 
yellow colour, lanceolate, and obtuse, with distant transverse 
bars, but very variable, both im form and colour, more or less 
perforated, without a medial line, and erect when dry; the 
fruit-stalk loosely cellular, almost semi-pellucid, usually straight 
when growing, slightly curved in a dry state, and somewhat 
twisted ; the spores smoothish, the barren flowers axilhary, 
mostly leafless, sometimes, but rarely, with a single involveral 
leaf; while the Pottia minutula, which in other respects it so 
nearly resembles, has barren flowers of from two to three 
leaved. Both are found in fruit during January and February, 
but the Pottia appears to continue in fructification longer than 
the Anacalypta. 

* It must, however, be acknowledged that there are few mosses which have 
not been honoured with a like multiplicity of names, a circumstance, doubtless, 


chiefly arising from the advance of science rendering the old nomenclature defec- 
tive, from incorrectness or inadequacy. 


wy - The Mosses Anacalypta and Pottia. : 


There are three other Anacalyptas, all of which fruit in the 
spring. Of these, A. ceespitosa, or the Round-fruited, grows 
on chalk hills, and has been found on Woolsonbury Hill, near 
Hurstpierpoint, Sussex. It is about the same size as A. 
Starkeana, but is easily distinguished from it by the rostrate 
lid of the capsule, which latter is also more ovate, and of a 
yellowish-brown, with a yellowish fruit-stalk, and plane-mar- 
gined and narrower foliage. A. cespitosa has “also a distinct 
pericheetium, the inner pericheetial leaf being very broad and 
sheathing, and a yellowish annulus surrounds the mouth of the 
capsule. It-fruits in March, as does also Anacalypta lanceolata, 
or the Lance-leaved Anacalypta. The latter is, however, of 
taller stature, the stems being from one line to half an inch 
long. The oval capsule, tapering at the base into a rather 
long reddish pedicel, has rather thick walls, of a glossy chest- 
nut colour, and is somewhat contracted below the mouth when 
dry. The lid is obliquely rostrate, but varies in length, some- 
times longer, sometimes shorter ; the simple annulus dehiscing 
in fragments ; and the peristome in this, as in Starkeana, is 
extremely variable; sometimes the teeth are almost linear, 
and rather long; sometimes shorter, and lanceolate obtuse ; 
sometimes linear lanceolate, and rather acute, formed of a 
double row of cellules, here and there perforated along the 
medial line ; somewhat jointed, flattish and minutely papillose, 
i. e., rough, with small roundish prominences, and usually of a 
pale reddish-fawn colour; sometimes of a deeper red; sub-erect 
when dry, or slightly incurved at the apex ; somewhat oblique 
in direction, and always connected below by a common mem- 
brane. The yellowish-brown calyptra reaches half-way down 
the capsule. 

The rare Anacalypta latifolia also fruits in the spring, but 
it can never be confounded with either of the others; its 
singularly bulb-like clustered foliage, of an almost silvery hue, 
gives it so peculiar an aspect as at once to distinguish it. The 
leaves are roundish-ovate, apiculate, or obtuse, very concave 
and imbricated, not recurved in the margin, membranous, 
shining, and whitish, with an erect capsule, whose lid is half 
as long as itself, and bearing a calyptra that reaches half-way 
down the capsule ; the seta long, and annulus sub-persistent. 
It is an elegant moss, inhabiting alpine districts, where it is 
found in the crevices of rocks. It is met with in several places 
in Switzerland, and has been found on the Clova mountains in 
Scotland, in Glen Phee or Glen Dole, by Mr. Drummond. 

Of the Pottias, P. cavifolia, or the oval-leaved Pottia, is re- 
markable for the variation in the length of its leaves, fruit-— 
stalk, and capsule, even when growing in the same locality ; 
the different forms growing in patches, not promiscuously, but 


The Mosses Anacalypta and Pottia.  - ae 


in separate groups; some having fruit-stalks more than half 
an inch long, others with the seta scarcely a line in height, and 
with leaves equally diverse, so that one unacquainted with the 
circumstance might easily imagine them to belong to different 
species. Jt may, however, always be known by the peculiarity 
of three or four membranous appendages attached to the 
nerve on the upper side of the leaf. These appendages are 
analogous to the lamelle of Polytrichwm hercynicum and the 
allied species. 

The leaves are, besides, erecto-patent, concave, slightly 
imbricated, obovate, or elliptical, and more or less piliferous ; 
sometimes, however, they are destitute of the hairy point. The 
capsule is oval, crowning a shorter or longer pedicel, and having 
an obliquely rostrate lid shorter than the capsule. Itis found on 
banks and mud-walls, and bears its fruit in March. 

Pottia truncata, or the common Pottia, ripens its fruit in 
February and March. ‘This also varies in stature, having stems 
from half a line to half an inch long; sometimes simple, some- 
times branched, with a fruit-stalk two or three lines in length ; 
and, though it chiefly bears solitary capsules, sometimes two 
and even three are found growing together. These capsules 
are sometimes very short, broad, and wide-mouthed, at others 
oblong and truncate. The leaves are more or less spreading, 
widely lanceolate, often wider above the middle, oblong and 
acuminate, with a reflexed margin, the nerve most frequently 
sub-excurrent, but occasionally ceasing below the apex. 

Wilson remarks that a variety of this moss sometimes 
occurs in wet seasons, “ with the stem branched in a fascicu- 
lated manner, with six or eight branches, each bearing a 
capsule.” 

The lid is obliquely rostrate, and convex at the base. 

Another member of the family fruiting in February is 
Pottia Wilsont, the oval-fruited Pottia. It grows on banks in 
a sandy soil, intermixed with the larger variety of P. truncata ; 
was found by Mr. Wilson on rocky ground near Bangor and 
Carnarvon; also near Llanfaeloe and Holyhead in North 
Wales ; by others in Sussex, near Wrexham, and near Over in 
Cheshire. It is supposed not to be unfrequent, but lable to 
be mistaken for P. cavifolia or for P. truncata. In aspect, 
however, it differs considerably from the latter, growing in 
close, round, convex tufts, of a pale, glaucous colour; whereas 
P. truncata, though occurring in similar situations, presents 
extended flat patches with dark green foliage; and, while 
the leaves of P. truncata are quinquefarious, those of P. Wilsoni 
are octofarious. ‘The nerve, too, is more excurrent, forming a 
mucro equal to half the width of the leaf. The areolation of 
the leaf is opaque and small in the upper part, larger and dia- 


12 The Mosses Anacalypta and Pottia. 


phanous towards the base. It also differs in the inflorescence, 
P. truncata bearmg gemmiform, barren flowers, while P. 

Wilsoni has naked antheridia, and fruits nearly a month earlier. 

They need not, therefore, be confounded; and the peculiar 
structure of the leaves of P. cavifolia easily distinguishes it 
when placed under the microscope. 

Pottia crimta, or bristly Pottia, is another which bears fruit 
in February, with stems more densely and compactly tufted 
than P. Wilsoni, and very obtuse, octofarious leaves, in this 
respect not unlike P. Wilsoni, but with a stronger rigid nerve, 
running out into a much longer bristle poimt, twice or thrice as 
long as in P. Wilsoni, scarcely opaque ; the areolee larger, cap- 
sule elliptic-oblong, scarcely contracted at the mouth, having an 
oblique rostellate lid, a smooth calyptra, and naked antheridia. 

Pottia Heimii, the lance-leaved Pottia, inhabits moist banks 
near the sea, and is rarely in fruit till April or May. This isa 
taller species, but, like its congeners, it varies considerably, 
differmg in the size, shape, and direction of the leaves, as 
well as in the length of the capsule and lid, while the fruit- 
stalk is sometimes less than half an inch, at other times an 
inch long. 

The stems are more or ee branched, the leaves concave, 
lanceolate, denticulate, or serrated at ay apex, which is acute ; 
margin plane, not recurved; the nerve reddish, scarcely at all 
excurrent, and the inflorescence polygamous, having the 
barren and fertile flowers variously disposed on the same indi- 
vidual; the flowers frequently synoicous, sometimes entirely 
barren ; in which case it is destitute of paraphyses. When 
both organs are found united in the same flower, they are ac- 
companied by subclavate paraphyses, longer than the anthe- 
ridia. ‘he capsule is of a reddish brown, erect, obovate, or 
oblong and truncate, not at all contracted at the mouth ; the lid 
obliquely rostrate, and adhering to the columella. 

We have thus completed the review of this minute, variable, 
but interesting genus, as far, at least, as British examples ~ 
extend. 


ne iy ntl 


th A yidbhr' is a ‘ ars 
{ eg, nm 


; sind am cre i ial ay ‘ 
alt ath Fn ene Hho 


ahi 


Windfall for 


the 


Mirroscope,” 


A Windfall for the Microscope. : 13 


A WINDFALL FOR THE MICROSCOPE. 
BY THE HON. MRS. WARD. 
(With a Coloured Plate.) 


Any one who (whether truly or otherwise) has acquired the name 
of a naturalist is lable to be asked concerning a jelly-like sub- 
stance occasionally appearing in sufficient quantity to attract 
observation. The question sometimes will be, “‘ What is that 
jelly which falls from the sky ?” as though that method of depo- 
sition could alone account for its sudden appearance. 

In answer, we have generally to say on being shown a speci- 
men, that the ‘jelly alluded to has certainly not fallen from the 
sky, and can pronounce it to be the plant described by Linnzeus 
as T'remella nostoc, and variously named by other authorities 
Nostoc, Tremella, ‘‘ witch-butter,” and “‘shot stars.’ This 
Nostoc is of a brownish-green colour, and, with a high magni- 
fying power, proves to be composed of a multitude of very 
beautiful beaded filaments, lymg in gelatinous fronds. These 
filaments, it would seem, rapidly subdivide, and in this way in- 
crease, while new fronds form around them when favoured by 
damp. ‘They frequently,’ says Dr. Carpenter,* “attain a 
very considerable size, and as they occasionally present them- 
selves quite suddenly (especially in the latter part of the 
autumn on damp garden walks), they have received the name 
of ‘fallen stars.’ They are not always so suddenly produced, 
however, as they appear to be; for they shrink up into mere 
films in dry weather, and expand again with the first shower.” 

The inquirers will, perhaps, be content with this explana- 
tion ; but possibly the objection may be raised that Nostoc is 
not the only kind of jelly, and they have seen some of quite 
different appearance. Possibly, then, a story which I have to 
tell of some jelly found under circumstances of undoubted 
isolation, and in a place where nothing of the sort had existed 
a few hours before, may throw light on the matter. It 
happened a few years ago, and I took such notes as I judged of 
importance at the time, making careful drawings of the 
* mysterious substance, and the unexpected changes which it 
underwent. 

To proceed, then: On the 20th of August I received from a 
friend fourteen miles off a little bottle containing a pale, jelly- 
like substance (Fig. 1), and a paper containing about thirty 
black grains, at first sight much resembling dry tea (Fig. 2). 
The information my friend sent with them was that they 
had been found on the deck of his yacht, the vessel being 


* The Microscope and its Revelations, p. 338. 


14 A Windfall for the Microscope. 


moored as usual at some distance from land in an inlet of 
Lough Ree, county Westmeath. 

I placed the jelly carefully in a tumbler of rain-water, and 
perceived that it was composed of small, roundish masses of | 
two kinds, one containing minute brown particles (Fig. 3), and 
the other green (Fig. 4), and both bearing a general resem- 
blance to miniature frog-spawn. The masses containing green 
particles were each attached to a cord-like fibre, and were more 
compact than those with brown. ‘The resemblance to frog- 
spawn recalled to my mind a dried specimen which I had 
lately seen of the plant Batrachospermum, and had the effect of 
leading me to refer them at that time to the vegetable kingdom. 

The microscope did not throw much light on the matter. 
With a magnifying power of fifteen diameters, it showed the 
brown spots as in Fig. 5, and the green as in Fig. 6; but it 
helped me to make out something about the black, tea-like 
erains (Fig. 2). These proved capable of being softened; a 
grain, placed for a few minutes in water, separated into oval 
particles, very similar to the brown particles of the jelly, but 
flatter, as if from drying and mutual pressure. (Figs. 7, 8.) 
The idea at once suggested itself that it had been exactly 
similar to the jelly; but, from being exposed to the sun, 
had dried and hardened. | 

I wrote to ask a few questions about the finding of the 
jelly and black grains, and ascertaimed the following par- 
ticulars :— 

The boatman whose duty it was to scour the deck each 
morning was repeatedly annoyed by finding spots of jelly 
(which he compared to “small star-fish”) lymg on the deck, 
sail-cover, etc. He at first thought he had taken it up when 
wetting the deck with water from the lake; but, when the 
weather became so rainy as to make this artificial wetting un- 
necessary, he still found them. 

On two mornings, instead of jelly, the black grains were 
found. My correspondent went on board his yacht on one of 
these occasions. The morning was fine, and the grains felt 
hard like glue, and came away easily from the wood when a, 
penknife was passed beneath them. When they lay on a flat 
surface they were rounded like drops of sealing-wax ; on sloping 
surfaces they were elongated ; for instance, those lying on the 
middle of the eylindrical “ sail-coat’?? which covers the mainsail 
when furled, were round, while those at its sides appeared to 
have run down, as dropped glue would have done. My in- 
formant did not observe any grains on ropes in a vertical. 
position, or on the mast; but he noticed a coil of perfectly 
white rope spotted all over with them. The boatman said he 
thought the black grains appeared in rather greater quantity 


4 


A Windfall for the Microscope. ; 15 


than the jelly had done; he also remarked that they were most 
abundant near the stern of the vessel, just where snow with a 
little wind, or small hail with a good deal of wind would have 
been sure to collect; but this remark refers only to their 
” position ; the total quantity was much smaller than a deposit of 
snow or hail would have been. 

Having now fully detailed the antecedents of the jelly, I 
proceed to the second part of my story. I left the jelly 
for five days in the tumbler—out of sight, and, I believe, to a 
certain extent, out of mind also; and the small portion of that 
with brown particles which I had last examined with the 
microscope remained still in the “animalcule cage,” slightly 
flattened between its two discs of glass. 

On placing the animalcule cage under the microscope on 
August 25th I saw with sudden surprise that several singular- 
looking larve had made their appearance among the jelly. 
That they had been produced from the brown particles was 
evident, as many empty shells were visible, and other similar 
larvee could be discerned ready to come out of the particles, or 
eggs, a8 they may in future be called. 

Fig. 9 shows the larve, the eggs, and the “ empty shells” 
above alluded to. The eggs display the cellular structure so 
commonly observed in minute aquatic insects and animalcules. 

These larvae were remarkable for their transparency, re- 
minding the spectator of Dickens’s observation with reference 
to Marley’s ghost,—‘‘ His body was transparent, so that 
Scrooge, observing him and looking through his waistcoat 
could see the two buttons on his coat behind!” I at once 
recognized their forms as familiar to me. A similar insect, 
with its strange, seal-like head and tiny pairs of feet (seal-like 
also) has often thrust itself across the field of view—a giant 
among’ pigmies—while I have been examining minute animal- 
cules with one of the higher powers of the microscope. 

The larvee appeared perpetually struggling to free them- 
selves from the jelly, and always incommoded by the slippery 
glass above and below them; except when they indulged in a 
lively dance in the surrounding drop of water. Their gait in 
this movement having reminded me of the common “ blood- 
worm,” Fig. 11 (larva of Chironomus plumosus, an insect nearly 
allied to the gnats), I obtained one of the latter from a water- 
trough which abounded in its mud hiding-places, and observed 
that the new larvee were very similar to it. 

This gave me a hint for the more comfortable establishment 
of the little Westmeath strangers. I placed them in a wine- 
glass half full of stagnant water, strained through muslin to 
guard against the presence of larger, and possibly hostile 
insects; and to the same miniature aquarium I removed the 


16 A Windfall for the Microscope. 


‘brown particles” from the tumbler, observing that a similar 
change had taken place among them. In less than half an 
hour numbers of the little larvee had rolled themselves im mud 
cases (Fig. 10). 

Meanwhile the green particles remained unaltered. On the © 
dlst, however, the contents as seen through the microscope 
seemed to assume a more defined shape. As may be supposed, 
they were inspected daily with much curiosity. On the 2nd of 
September the uniform green spots, so often watched, were 
evidently seen to be exchanged for something moving. It was 
one of the excitements of a microscope to guess what appear- 
ance they would have when magnified. 

Fig. 12 represents what the microscope showed when they 
were conveyed to it, and the form at first sight reminds one of 
a crayfish, or lobster; but they proved to be the “ caddis- 
worm,” larva of the caddis-fly. ‘The immensely long, jointed 
legs, alike suited for building the well-known habitations of the 
caddis-worm, and for walking nimbly among water-weeds, and 
the soft body, evidently requiring defensive armour, were soon 
recognized. 

_ I placed them in a glass, stocked with what I believed to be 
the materials of their trade ; and at first they floated somewhat 
helplessly on the surface of the water. Hre long, however, 
these young creatures began very properly to make their 
clothes; or, as one may say, to build their houses, for these 
were real buildings, although no larger than those represented 
at Fig. 14. The reader may imagine how small the grains of 
sand must be of which they are constructed. At Fig. 13 these 
tiny edifices may be seen magnified fifteen diameters. 

The jelly, then, was no other than the eges of insects, and 
its appearance corresponded with some descriptions given by 
Westwood.* He speaks of the eggs of one of the Chironomus 
family as deposited on the leaves of aquatic plants, and covered 
with a mass of gluten; and he says of the caddis-flies (Phry- 
ganeide) that they deposit their eggs in a double gelatinous 
mass, which is of a green colour, and he adds that the female of 
Phryganea grandis has been observed to creep down the stems 
of aquatic plants under the water, for the purpose of placing 
her eggs in a desirable position. 

The young caddis-worms which emerged on September 2nd 
were alive and well a fortnight later, and had enlarged their 
cases considerably. Unfortunately the story ends here. Iwas 
called away from home, locked up the wine-glasses which con- 
tained the two kinds of larvae,—found them dried up on my 
return, and was unsuccessful in my attempts for their resus- 
citation. But I think it will be pronounced that I had 


* Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects, vol. ii., pp. 62, 516. 


Minstrels of the Winter. =) @ - ae 


the advantage of having watched a curious part of their 
history. ; 

And now, after all, how did the jelly get upon the deck of 
the “Dulcinea”? No doubt Chironomus and Phryganea deposited 
their eggs there ; but why so recklessly over sail-coat, coil of 
rope, and deck, instead of in the lake close at hand? That I 
do not attempt to explain, but merely state the facts as IL 
observed or heard them. 


MINSTRELS OF THE WINTER. 
BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD. 


THERE are not many, even among genuine inquirers and 
observers, who can exercise the needful patience to gather 
knowledge for themselves on the subject of winter birds. A 
man who has spent six days in stalking a “ muckle hart of 
Benmore,”’ or who has passed a night im a hunter’s lodge on 
the shore of a lonely mere in Le Morvan, or has endured 
wind, rain, and hunger in angling for grayling beside a poor 
swim on the banks of the Wye, the Dove, or the Ribble, may 
be able to sit still for hours on a muggy December day, or 
during the prevalence of a north-easter m January, and make 
notes of what birds move about among the dead leaves and 
fern in the copse, or try their luck beside the frozen brook, or 
sail high in the heavens, screaming more discordantly than 
the wind, on their way to discover a land of plenty, when 
frost has made amore terrible dearth than a burning drought 
in summer time. It is not at all a barren occupation to sit at 
a window overlooking an open country or a well wooded 
garden, and by the aid of a short-focus telescope, take note of 
all the birds that come and go, how many robins, blackbirds, 
thrushes, how many less-known aves flit across the scene, or 
pause for a season and explore for sustenance, and perhaps 
whistle a merry song, or engage in a small encounter—though 
birds rarely fight in winter—and thus acquire somewhat of a 
notion of the ornithological wealth of the district. One thing 
I know by experience, that if the residents in the suburbs of 
London, especially those dwelling three or more miles from St. 
Paul’s, were to engage themselves in this very quiet and in- 
exciting recreation occasionally, they would derive considerable 
satisfaction in learning by observation, that many more birds 
visit the gardens in the suburbs of London, as, indeed, of all 
large towns, than is usually supposed; and this knowledge 
might make many more contented with their lot who are now 
VOL. V.—NO. I. Cc 


18 f Minstrels of the Winter. 


bitter with dissatisfaction at the rapid growth of towns and 
the change which is passing over all things rural. I am often 
amused at the look of astonishment with which friends some- 
times receive my verbal accounts of birds that visit my garden, 
but I am not surprised that they find it hard to believe, and 
disposed to receive the narrative as a joke, for I sometimes 
hear one say, “I haven’t seen a robin the whole winter 
through,” though the speaker lives, perhaps, in“an open rural 
spot, where a bird-catcher could make a good living, if 
allowed to put down traps in the garden for robins only. The 
fact is, the majority of people go through the world with their 
eyes shut. Intellectual. observers are thinly scattered, and it 
is as yet known but to few how abundant and how cheap are 
the sources of human happiness. 

Not that an observer now pressing his nose to the window 
pane, or chattering his teeth on a bleak common, would see or 
hear a great many birds. The great flocks of harvest finches 
that winged their way across the stubbles lke driving 
showers, appearing and re-appearing as they were disturbed 
by the sound of wheels, or voices, or guns, have all dispersed ; 
the plough has broken up their pastures, and they, for the 
most part, forage for themselves smegly, or in very small 
parties, the males and females being for the present separated. 
In the gardens there are fewer birds of all kinds, even black- 
birds, thrushes, and sparrows are scarce, and, what is worse, 
they are quiet. From the end of October to the end of 
January, the country is as quiet as it is leafless, indeed, more 
quiet than leafless, and the silence is oftentimes oppressive, 
especially when far into November and December the 
meadows are still as green as m April, many trees still 
holding their leaves, and the sky bright and blue, with 
soft breezes blowing, and everything, except the birds, affecting 
to consider winter an impossibility. But there is no hypo- 
crisy among the birdies, their winter has come, and they wait 
without murmuring the return of spring; and because of this 
silence I think it well to gossip a little on the song birds of 
winter; for happily there are a few, and Nature has ordered 
it that no day or hour in the whole year round should pass 
without some sort of voice to serve it for a chronicle. 

““ What are the birds now to be heard? Tellus,” you say, 
“about the minstrels of the winter, their names, their features, 
and their songs.” On just such a day as I write this, 
December 18th—barometer 30°41, thermometer im the shade, 
42°—the sun shining brightly in a cloudless grey sky. breeze 
from the north-east, brisk enough to keep all the windmills clack- 
ing—on just such a day I was sauntering beside the Avon at 
Ringwood, in the New Forest, wondering how the cows could 


Minstrels of the Winter. f 19 


manage to get so fat on potamageton and other water plants 
that they always feed upon there, when suddenly 1 was 
startled by a splash, and saw a little bird dash into the clear 
stream. beside me, and fly along the green weedy bed with the 
swiftness of an arrow, then emerge, fly upwards, and alight on 
the bough of a willow overhanging the water. There for a 
moment he was busy jerking down his throat some sort of 
food he had captured durmeg his brief submergence, and then 
he broke out into such a clear rmging song, that I might have 
fancied the whole affair a dream, or the bird an angel in dis- 
guise. J remember the event the more particularly, because, 
till then, I always believed the water blackbird (Cinclus aqua- 
ticus) to be exclusively a native of the highland glens, where 
it overpowers the roar of the waterfall and the muttering of 
the mountain breeze with its rich, wild melody, loudest among 
‘the feathered minstrels of Britain. I soon lost my friend ; he 
vanished as-suddenly as he appeared, and but once since have 
I seen this most curious, most rare, and most musical of all the 
minstrels of the winter. 

Bechstein describes the water-ousel as a favourite cage- 
bird with the Germans, and Macgillivray, greatest of word 
painters, tells of its habits as observed by him among the 
fastnesses of the north. In form and features this bird resem- 
bles a starling more than a blackbird; the head tapers towards 
' the beak, the beak is long, flattish, and black, the head and neck 
are of a rusty brown, the rest of the upper part of the body is 
black, with an ashy tint, the quill feathers and the very short 
tail are black, breast pure white, shading into deep maroon, 
and that again shading into black, which extends over the belly. 
Tt is a peculiar bird; when looking forward in a half crouching 
attitude, and for a moment motionless, it has the look of a 
hunery charity boy with a bob-tail coat; but when it lifts up 
its head and stands almost erect, showing its broad white breast, 
to pour out its rich mellifluous song, there is a pride and daring 
im its attitude befittine a bird that loves best the mountain 
breeze, the brawling brook, and the foaming waterfall. It 
haunts the stream in the capacity of a fisher, and its food is 
principally the spawn of trout and salmon, and this it seems 
to take during its flight under water, and without needing to 
pause where it is impossible it could contimue for more than a 
few seconds at a time. 

Another real minstrel of the winter is the missel-thrush, 
which I mention with less of the pleasure I should otherwise 
experience, because I have found it impossible to cultivate 
mistletoe in my garden at Stoke Newington through the vast 
ierease of London smoke, consequent on the growth of build- 
ings on every hand. ‘The China rose was the first to feel the 


pa Minstrels of the Winter. 


shock, now the mistletoe, which used to thrive in these parts, 
begins to show signs of sickliness, and when we lose that we 
must say farewell to the missel-thrush, or rather he will take 
farewell of us, and we shall miss his boisterous song. Hitherto 
the missel-thrush (Turdus viscivorus) has been a constant and 
a frequent visitor at Stoke Newington, and all the gardens of 
the northern suburbs. He is indeed fond of the suburbs of 
London, and often seen at Brixton, Tulse Hill, Sydenham, and 
other spots which still retain a show of rurality. But though 
fond of mistletoe berries, there is no necessary connection 
between the bird and the druidical plant; and if we lose the 
missel-thrush it will not be because the mistletoe has perished, 
but because the new houses interpose a barrier between us and 
the open country. Every winter during the past seven years 
I have not failed to see the missel-thrush in the garden half-a- 
dozen times at least, and it is some satisfaction to know that a 
great boss of fruiting ivy, which bears berries most abundantly, 
is an attraction to this and other winter songsters, and no in- 
crease of building will destroy that or render it less fruitful. 
Very few birds are gregarious in winter, two or three black- 
birds and song-thrushes may sometimes be seen on the lawn 
at one time, and occasionally a dozen sparrows will forage in 
company among the rhododendrons; but. the storm-cock is 
loneliest of the lonely—an emblem of solitude—for he comes 
alone, he comes at times when most other birds are cowering 
for shelter in unseen retreats, and for a thrush of any kind his 
size 1s so vast and his aspect so daring, that there is a charm 
about his solitariness, and his loud, melancholy, monotonous 
song is as appropriate to his whole character and habits as to the 
drea¥y season when he most rejoices to utter it. It appears 
not to have been noticed that this bird plays the hawk occa- 
sionally among the minor minstrels, and is at times as much 
feared by small birds as the buzzard and the kite. I have seen 
a missel-thrush make a dash into a bed of American shrubs in 
front of my drawing-room windows, and put to flight a score or 
more of sparrows with expressions of alarm, as if a bomb-shell 
had fallen amongst them. White remarks upon its pugnacity 
during the season of nidification, ‘ driving such birds as ap- 
proach its nest with great fury to a distance. The Welsh call 
it pen y Ulwyn, the head or master of the coppice. He suffers 
no magpie, jay, or blackbird to enter the garden where he 
haunts, and is for the time a good guard to the new-sown 
legumens.” This last note has strangely escaped the notice of 
the advocates of birds against the destroyers who make no 
exception in their wholesale devastation, by trap, poison, and 
gun. But it is not in the breeding season only that the storm- 
cock is pugnacious ; he is at all times a hater of birds, even of 


Minstrels of the Winter. : 21 


his own race, and, like the robin, leads a lonely life, knowing no 
fellowship except with his mate while love rules him, and to 
her showing an attachment as ardent as his hostility to all else 
is unscrupulous and savage. But he is a “noble savage,” and 
_ when fairly in song, which does not happen till the new year 

turns, rejoices to peal out his loud, wild, and mournful notes 
when every other bird is silenced by the keenness of the wintry 
blast. 

Occasionally in the vicinity of villages, and in well-wooded 
gardens, the winter days are enlivened by the notes of the 
woodlark, the wren, the gold-crowned wren, the robin, and 
small companies of wandering finches. But the extent to 
which these become musical, indeed the degree in which they 
visit the abodes of men, depends much upon the weather, and 
there are times when during frost, fog, and snow, no birds 
capable of a musical note save the sparrow and the robin are 
ever seen. - Where they hide at such inclement seasons no man 
can tell, but that many of them perish in hard winters is but too 
well known by the finding of their dead bodies sometimes in 
dozens and scores, sometimes in hundreds, in sheltered nooks 
to which they had resorted for mutual protection, and to perish 
of want in a community of misery. ven when no such terrors 
threaten them, the dull weather so common to December makes 
them all mute, and it is only on those halcyon days when the 
sun breaks through the gloom, and makes a momentary spring- 
time, that we are reminded by their music that the world is still 
peopled with happy feathered creatures. Song birds are not 
such victims of blind unmeaning impulse, not stich mere crea- 
tures of instinct as to sing, as Tennyson says, “ because they 
must.” They participate with us im the depression consequent 
on gloom, and the cheerfulness that accompanies life and Nght; 
and it is because during December the world is more dead in 
the aspects of the sky and the state of vegetation than at all 
other seasons, that then nature is most silent, in a certain sense 
the grave has closed over all things lovely, and the birdies are 
buried with the flowers. It is not lack of food, but lack of 
sunshine that causes the general silence of December ; fog is 
more depressing than frost, and the minstrels that are still 
capable of song take their moods from the state of the elements, 
and are simply silent when it would be out of taste to sng. It 
is worthy of notice in this connection that we celebrate the 
most joyous festival of the whole year at a time when the aspect 
of heaven and earth are most depressing, the origin of Christmas 
lying far back and beyond the blessed history of which it is now 
the brightest outward symbol, and in some sense but a con- 
tinuation in an altered form of those Pagan feasts in which the 
holly, mistletoe, and ivy were originally consecrated as emblems 


22 - Minstrels of the Winter. 


of rejoicing. Still with all the dulness of the time, some songs 
prevail, and when the resident birds have played their parts in 
the meagre wintry chorus, there are many sojourners that have 
a song to sing, and a few words will suffice to enumerate all 
but a few that make themselves conspicuous by their bravery — 
and gaiety. : 

Let us not forget how courageously the smallest of British 
birds defies the winter, and is always in a merry mood. The 
common wren (Motacilla troglodytes, Linn.) is as common in 
the gardens at Stoke Newington as the robin and the thrush. 
On a sharp winter it is a common occurrence to see half a 
dozen at a time scuttling along the top fringe of the ivy fence, 
or busthng about among the dead leaves under the evergreen 
shrubs, looking like mice, and uttering a very mouse-like 
squeak, which, like a stray primrose or lingering chrysan- 
themum, is the more welcome, because there is then little 
competition, and we are glad of any noise out of doors that is 
not positively discordant. Neville Wood does real justice to 
this miniature of a songster. He says, “the song is short, 
shrill, and remarkably loud in proportion to the size of the 
bird. It may perhaps be ranked amongst the most trivial of 
our feathered choristers, but the notes are more prized than 
they would otherwise be on account of their being frequently 
heard in mid-winter, when a mere scream would almost 
seem sweet, especially if it proceeded from the throat of so tiny 
a bird as the ivy wren. And thus insignificant and humble 
(with regard to musical merit) as are its strains, I always listen 
to them with delight in the dreary seasons, though we are apt _ 
to overlook them altogether in fairer times.””? The gold-crowned 
wren (fequlus awrocapillus) I have seen but once here, and 
thaf' was in the winter of 1858, during a dark drizzly day, 
when the bird appeared suddenly toying among the branches 
of a thorn near the window, as if wholly unconscious of the 
cold, though it is known to be the most susceptible to cold of 
all the British birds, and looking for the moment as if a stuffed 
humming bird had suddenly come to life and escaped from a 
glass shade. After sporting among the shrubs for several 
minutes, this “winged gem,” remarkable for its minuteness, 
pertness, and the brilliant colour of its crest, made its way in 
a sort of jerking flight across the garden, shone for a few 
seconds like a flame on the ivy, and then with a small sound 
like the creaking of a wheel at a distance made its way towards 
the distant meadows. I have rarely travelled far in winter in 
any part of Herts or Surrey without seeing one or more speci- 
mens of this pretty bird in the course of a journey ; but I never 
heard it really sing until after the, turn of the year, and then to 
understand the scope and character of its song the listener 


Minstrels of the Winter. 23 


should be motionless, or the bird will be mute. In plantations 
and copses it may generally be met with, and it will always 
repay the rambler to take a seat on a stone or the stump of a 
tree, for a chance of a visit and a performance, for the gold wren 
iS inquisitive, and will approach near to the stranger, and 
sing its small soft, sweet song within a few paces of the 
listener so long as he maintains comparative stolidity. 

Among the winter visitants the fieldfare must take the lead 
for the excellence of its notes, and perhaps the. greenfinch 
should have the next place, not for sweetness, but garrulousness. 
The fieldfare-thrush (Turdus pilaris) is a handsome bird, with 
a lively expression and a beautifully dappled breast. It comes 
with the redwing in October, and leaves us for its Scandinavian 
breeding grounds some time in April, though both it and the 

‘redwing occasionally continue later. The fieldfares go from 
field to field in vast flocks, preferrmg open flat countries, and 
not often separating to visit gardens, though I have seen soli- 
tary individuals of both species shot in gardens near London. 
Ordinarily when these flocks pass, the only notes heard are the 
call notes, and these are sufficiently unmelodious to deter one 
from criticism. *Opimions differ as to the value of its song. 
Mr. Wood speaks of having kept one in a cage, but he never 
heard it sing, “if you had seen it you would have supposed it 
had some deep project im its head, so wise and solemn did it 
look.” Mr. Blyth says, “its song is a mere chatter.” Bech- 
stem says, “its song is a mere harsh and disagreeable warble.” 
Mr. Broderip says, “‘the song is soft and melodious, and the 
bird sings agreeably in confinement, to which it soon becomes 
reconciled.” I once had an opportunity of putting these various 
statements to the test of experiment, and the result was this, 
that individuals differ considerably in their powers of song; but 
what is of more importance is this, that there are few bird- 
fanciers who can distinguish males from the females, and so 
hen birds are sometimes caged, and hence an unfair verdict 
upon the musical capabilities of the species. As to caging it, 
it is the easiest thing in the world, and take care not to give it 
more food than needful, or it will grow fat and die of heart 
disease. There are other points of interest in the history of 
this bird: it has never been known to breed in this country, 
and in its own Norwegian forests it builds in forks of the fir, 
and large numbers associate together. Sir Walter Scott makes 
a strange exception to hig usual accuracy of description, where, 
in the “Lady of the Lake,” he describes it as breeding in 
Britain, and making its nest on the ground— 

** Beneath the broad and ample bone, 
That buckled heart to fear unknown ; 


A feeble and a timorous guest, 
he fieldfare framed her | lonely nest.” 


“oar Minstrels of the Winter. 


Among the rarer birds that visit us in winter, and by cheer- 
ful notes break the sullen monotony of the dreary season, the 
silktail, the grosbeak, the snowflake, crossbill, mountain finch, 
and mountain linnet, may occasionally be seen and heard by 
observers well situated, and the counties of Surrey and Hants 
are more often favoured, perhaps, by these rare visitants than 
any other parts of England. I used, when a boy, to catch in 
the meadows of my native village of Stepney, meally redpoles 
and greenfinches in numbers greater than I care now to 
remember, especially as the remembrance includes not only 
the catching, but the unhappy fate of those birds ; for we used 
sometimes to harness them with twine and have them at school 
with us all day, sometimes hidden in our sleeves, when the 
dominie’s eyes were to be deceived, and at other times thrust 
down a boy’s neck when there was opportunity for a trick, or a 
piece of vengeance. ‘T'raps and cages were made of impossible 
materials, a dozen or more unhappy prisoners were pent up in 
cages not large enough for one to move about freely in, and left 
to fight, or starve, or perish as they might. We are some- 
times beguiled into a wish that we could be “ boys once more,” 
but there is no man with a spark of true humanity who would 
purchase back the joys of boyhood if it were inevitable that 
we must also be as cruel asa boy; and, alas, it must be said 
that as a rule, boys are cruel, implacably cruel, and inventively 
wanton in inflicting cruelty on animals, and from the act de- 
riving a pleasure so intense, as to prevent reflection and stifle 
the voice of conscience, which has some force, even in 
infants. The redpole (Linaria pusilla, Blyth) is both resident 
and migratory ; in the midland it is common throughout the 
year, frequenting groves and streams; in other places it ap- 
pears’ only as a winter visitant, and it is in this character only 
I have made its acquaintance. The flocks we used to thin made 
their appearance in December and January, on the site now.occu- 
pied by the Metropolitan Cemetery and the town which joins it 
on one side, and which in my “ boyish days” consisted of 
meadows and market gardens. ‘There we used to see them in 
vast flocks, shifting about in compact masses, and uttering a 
pleasing but confused song, as soon as they alighted on the 
hedgerows and bushes, from which, on the slightest alarm, 
they would take wing, and in their progress mingle sundry 
call-notes with small snatches of song. On the other hand, 
the greenfinch (Lowia chloris, Linn.) has always been known to 
me as less gregarious in its habits than the redpole, or, indeed, 
any other of the finches; and though it is a resident, it is only 


as a winter visitant I have hud opportunities of observing it — 


sufficiently to become familiar with its habits. It is a beautiful 
and lively bird, no whit less attractive in habit and song 


~ Minstrels of the Winter. | : 25 


than the goldfinch or the chaffinch, birds of no mean repute ; 
but, unfortunately, the call-note of the greenfinch is abominably 
harsh, and so piercing, that® may be heard at a greater dis- 
tance than the call of any other bird, and is often useful as a 
warning to birds of other species, as well as to the individuals 
of the flocks of half-a-dozen or so which frequent the London 
gardens during the winter. 

Thus, in spite of its beimg true that the winter has few 
sones, I have, I hope, shown that it has some music to cheer 
the heart of man, and encourage the observer to continue the 
search for knowledge, even when the opportunities for its ac- 
quirement are few and far between. Nor is the list of winter 
song-birds exhausted. The crossbill octasionally appears, in 
company with the hawfinch, m our pine woods; and these 
are the two most interesting of all the rarer birds of Britain. 
Great is my debt to them for amusement freely afforded by 
their pranks and melody, when they have figured among my 
household pets, as greatly prized as any. There is the siskin, 
also rare, but liveliest of the liively—a bird with a merry heart 
and a vein of comic humour quite in keeping with the queer 
character of its twitter of a song. And if all these were 
silent, we should have the sparrow and the robin, friends that 
fail not, that a hard winter never annihilates, and that seem to 
be of kindred, morally, with the redoubtable Mark 'Tapley, 
for they are “‘ jolly” under circumstances the most adverse to 
‘merriment. But why mention them together? they are no 
friends, and the first is. but a chattermg thief, while the other 
is the bravest, the most individual, independent, jovial, and 
melodious of all the winter minstrels. No wonder the robin 
is the most renowned in story, and the most sacred in the 
household mythology, for his mellow song is like a ray of sun- 
shine durmg a season of darkness, or, as Hmerson says, 
speaking of things altogether foreign to this subject, “like 
music heard out of a workhouse.” 


| Salt Marshes and their Inhabitants. 


SALT MARSHES AND THEIR INHABITANTS. 


BY GEORGE 8. BRADY, M.R.C.S., 
Secretary to the Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club. 


THERE are in our comfortable land few scenes more dreary and. e 
depressing than an extensive salt marsh, especially if seen 
under unfavourable conditions of weather. ‘he monotony of 
a vast expanse of moorland is broken by undulations of its 
surface, by the purple flush of heather, or the golden glow of 
blossoming gorse; and even if there be none of these it be- 
comes grand rather than dreary in its very immensity, and the 
ever-varying play of light and shade upon its many-timted 
vegetation, gives 1t an indescribable charm. But let us change 
the scene. Picture to yourself a bare expanse of cold, oozy 
soil, clothed with scanty, stunted vegetation of a dull grey- 
green hue, with patches of treacherous mud, into which one 
may very easily sink up to the knees before one has time to 
invoke the shade of ‘Jack Robinson” (whoever that 
mysterious worthy may have been); here and there a sullen, 
shallow, brackish pool, with bottom of black peat or mud; bits 
of old worm-eaten wreck strewed about, and sinking month 
by month deeper into the unstable soil; cast off shells of 
shore-crabs bleaching in the sun, and crunching beneath the 
infrequent footstep; no sight or sound of life except afew sea- 
gulls or lapwings circling overhead, and only adding to the 
“‘eermess” of the scene by their melancholy cry. All this is 
sufficiently doleful, and with a dull leaden sky, and the breath 
of a chill sea wind, one has need jof a considerable share 
of the spirit of Mark Tapley to keep “jolly” under the 
circumstances. 

However, to the naturalist there is abundant interest in 
localities such as these. Though the vegetation is so poor and 
stunted, we find on closer inspection not a few interesting and 
peculiar plants, and we are at once struck with the fact that 
many of them are remarkable for their excessively fleshy and 
succulent leaves. Perhaps the commonest of all is Glave 
maritima, @ modest little plant with pretty but inconspicuous 
pink flowers, or rather, we should scarcely say jlowers, for 
petals are wanting, and the apparent flower is merely the flesh- 
coloured calyx. ‘Then there is Salicornia herbacea, with its 
thick, tumid leaves, which often obtain for it, though incor- 
rectly, the name of Samphire; the true Samphire (Orithmum 
maritimum) being essentially a rock-loving plant and growing — 
sre in the most inaccessible positions, as Shakspeare well 

new : 


Salt Marshes and their Inhabitants. - pars 


“Half way down 
Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade : 
Methinks he seems no bigger than his head.” 


More showy than these is Aster tripoliwm, which, with its 
mauve petals and brilliant orange disc, does the best it can to 
lend some liveliness to its chosen haunts, 


“ Making a sunshine in a shady place.” 


Some of the Arenaric, too, we may find (A. marina, or A. pep- 
loides), not without a quiet beauty of their own, but certainly 
less attractive than their rarer neighbour the Sea Lavender 
(Statice limonium), which, with its beautiful spikes of blue and 
white, is after all not so lovely a flower as its near relative, the 
common Thrift (Armeria maritima). Thrift flourishes no- 
where so well as on cliffs overlooking the sea. The Pre- 
raphaelite artist could scarcely find a more delightful study 
than a luxuriant bed of this plant carpeting the sides of a 
rugged rock, its glow of tender crimson intermixed with the 
beautiful white of the Sea Catchfly (Silene maritima). But we 
find it likewise growing freely in the salt marsh, on the 
mountain-top far inland, and under cultivation in our gardens. 
It seems, indeed, to be one of the most hardy and accom- 
modating of our indigenous plants. We might much prolong 
this list of flowering plants peculiar to, or very common 
inhabitants of, salt marshes, but must dismiss them with the 
mere mention of the genera Atriplex and Plantago, both of 
which will commonly be found represented. The Cryptogamic 
flora, however, deserves further attention. In the spongier 
parts of the marsh we find the roots and rhizomes of the 
grasses matted together by a dense growth of Vaucheria, one 
of the green Algz of a genus which inhabits indiscriminately 
fresh, brackish, and salt water. The plant puts on many 
different forms and habits, according to the kind of locality in 
which it grows, and many of these varieties have been elevated 
to the rank of species on very insufficient grounds. Vaucheriw 
is certainly one of the least beautiful, perhaps also one of the 
least interesting of its class. It consists of branched tubular 
filaments, filled with a green endochrome, and without articu- 
lations. The filaments are mostly inextricably matted together, 
forming a dense cushion, so that the base of the tuft being 
excluded from the air and buried in mud, becomes yellow and 
gradually decays, while the upper extremities, continuing their 
growth, are of a deep bluish-green colour. ‘The only situation 
in which we have ever seen any member of the genus put forth 
much pretension to beauty, is on the sides of perpendicular 
rocks, where it is nourished by the spray of waterfalls or 
runlets. In such places its green velvet fleece, often many 


on Salt Marshes and their Inhabitants. 


yards in extent, disposes itself in numberless tiny crests and 
undulations, which give an effect of exceeding richness to the 
rock surface. This plant is V. caspitosa, that of the salt 
marshes, V. velutina. While speaking of Vaucheria we may 
briefly allude to the remarkable fact that living animals (Roti- 
fera) have been repeatedly observed in the interior of the 
filaments, nor is there much difficulty in accounting for their 
presence in so unwonted a situation. When the tube of the 
plant ruptures to allow of the escape of a spore, or from any 
other cause, the opening so formed would be amply sufficient 
to allow of the ingress of a rotifer, eitheras an egg or in the 
mature state, and when once established in the filament there 
is nothing to prevent the animalcule breeding ad libitum, so that 
plants have been observed to be completely colonized by 
Entozoa of this kind. Intermixed with the marsh Vaucheria 
we often find a species of Oscillatoria, an alea composed of 
slender, unbranched, tortuous threads, which are faintly marked 
by close transverse strie. Its filaments are of microscopic 
dimensions, being only one two-thousandth of an inch in 
diameter, and when viewed under the microscope they exhibit 
plainly the peculiar dscillatory and worm-like motions from 
which the genus derives its name. The origin of these move- 
ments is not thoroughly understood. They had been supposed 
to be due~to q@iliary action (a very convenient explanation by 
the way, of all sorts of anomalous, ill-understood movements), 
but are more probably referable to some contractility inherent 
in the tissue of the plant, perhaps analogous to that which we 
see im the sarcode of Rhizopoda, etc. At all events, no cilia 
adequate to produce such motions have yet been detected in 
Oscillatoriz, and the motions themselves are very different in 
character from those which we know to be caused by ciliary 
action, such as the rotation of Volvox and the spores of many 
alge. Iam at a loss to conceive how any observant scientific 
man could explain these motions (or attempt to explain them), 
as Dr. Hassell has done, in the following words :—‘ The phe- 
nomenon of oscillation is due to a certain degree of elasticity 
belonging to the filaments, which leads to the effort, on their 
part, whenever, as on being placed for observation on the field 
of the microscope, must be the case, they are bent or put out 
of a straight line, to recover that position which is natural to 
them. ‘This elastic property of the filament currents, almost 
imperceptible in the liquid in which they are immersed, and 
perhaps unequal attractions amongst the filaments themselves, 
are causes amply sufficient to explain any motion which I have 
ever witnessed amongst the Oscillatoriz, and which motion I 
cannot help thinking to have been misunderstood and ex- 
aggerated to such an extent, as to throw around these plants 


Salt Marshes and their Inhabitants. - 29 


an unnecessary degree of mystery.” A very simple observa- 
tion would have shown Dr. Hassell that these motions take 
place naturally during the growth of the plant, and while it is 
free from any of those disturbing causes alluded to. Indeed, 
it is by these motions only that we can explain the very rapid 
- spreading of the filaments over a large surface, which pheno- 
menon may be easily witnessed both under natural and 
artificial conditions. 

- The oscillation is seen even more beautifully in a nearly 
allied genus, Spirulina, which may occasionally be found 
spreading over decaying leaves and other organic matters in 
brackish water, or in the sea near high-water mark. The 
plant itself is also much more elegant than Oscillatoria, con- 
sisting of a slender filament, twisted closely upon itselfso as to 
resemble a very delicately threaded screw of a beautifully 
delicate green tint. Another very curious organism of the 
same group, and occurring also, though much more rarely, in 
salt marshes, is Microcoleus anguiformis, which may be described. 
as consisting of a number of short threads of an Oscillatoria 
packed together into a bundle and enclosed in a tubular sheath, 
wide and open at one extremity, pointed and closed at the 
other. Out of the open extremity the threads protrude and 
oscillate, or they may even exhibit themselves from a rent in 
the side of the sheath. _ 

If we scan closely the bottom of one of the black unin- 
vitinge pools before-mentioned, we shall probably find that it is 
marked in patches, or it may be all over, with small closely-set 
holes, each of which opens at the apex of a slight eminence. 
The tubes with which these perforations communicate are, in 
fact, the habitations of a curious Amphipodous crustacean 
(Corophium longicorne), but whether they are really the work 
of the Corophium, or are merely taken possession of by the 
creature, aS a hermit-crab takes possession of a deserted 
shell, is not so easily decided. I believe that the tubes 
are mostly excavated by a small annelid. At any rate, 
whole colonies of annelids may often be found inhabiting them. 
There is no doubt, however, that the Corophium has the power 
of burrowing very rapidly into soft mud, and it makes use of 
this faculty whenever it is alarmed and wishes to conceal itself; 
probably also when pursuing its prey. But though I have 
kept specimens in confinement for several days I never could 
find that they formed any regular tubes like those which we see 
them inhabiting in their natural haunts. There is a traditional 
enmity between Corophium and the Annelids, and it is quite pos- 
sible that it may, after killing the architects, take possession of 
their burrows. So indeed, Pagurus hasbeen said (but not proved) 
to do with the molluscan builder of its appropriated habitation. 


a Salt Marshes and their Inhabitants. 


Oorophium longicorne is most commonly met with in the mud 
of brackish ditches, flat sea-shores, and estuarine swamps, but 
if the following passage from Quatrefages’ “Rambles of a 
Naturalist ” may be trusted, it would appear to be an animal of 
migratory habits. “ Towards the end of April these little 
crustaceans, termed by the fishermen of the coasts of Saintonge, 
the Pernis, arrive from the open sea in myriads. Guided by 
their instinct, they come to wage an exterminatmg war against 
the Annelids, which during the whole winter and early spring 
have multiplied undisturbed. As the tide rises these voracious 
hordes are seen moving about in all directions, beating the mud 
with their long antenne, and pursuing Nerides and Arenicolee 
to their deepest recesses. When once they discover one of these 
animals, which are several hundred times larger than them- 
selves, they combine to attack and devour it, and then resume 
their.eager chase. This carnage never ceases till the Annelids 
have almost entirely disappeared. . . . . . Before the 
close of May the work is completed, and then the Corophium 
turns upon the molluscs and fishes, which it attacks, whether 
living or dead. ‘Through the whole of the summer these crus- 
taceans remain upon the coast, but towards the end of October 
they all disappear in one night, ready to return the following 
year.”* To this account we may add that in some places, far 
removed from tidal influence, where we commonly find these 
little crustaceans, the migration spoken of cannot possibly take 
place. Probably the habits of the creature may vary according 
to the circumstances in which it is placed. 

Another Amphipodousf crustacean, constantly met with in 
the pools of salt marshes, is Gammarus locusta ; certainly not 
an animal of beautiful or interesting aspect. Its dull brown or 
greenish colour, its wriggling sideways motion when taken out 
of the water, and its habit (shared by other members of the 
family) of hanging together in couples, the large male carrying 
the smaller female about beneath him, holding her by his 


claws; all these give the creature a certain repulsiveness. | 


Nevertheless, there are several very interesting points to be 
observed respecting it. In the first place, this genus (Gam- 
marus) may be said to be the type of the whole class of 
crustacea. In it the several parts of crustacean organization 
are developed in the most symmetrical and orderly way, and 
may be separated and demonstrated, perhaps, more completely 


* Quatrefages’ Rambles of a Naturalist on the Coasts of France, Spain, and 
Sicily, vol. ii., page 312. 

+ The Ldriopthalma, or sessile-eyed crustacea, are sub-divided into Amphipoda 
and Jsopoda, the former being compressed laterally, and having feet adapted 
both for swimming and walking; the latter are flattened horizontally, and are 
specially formed for running. Of the first named group, the common Sand- 
hopper may be taken as the type; of the latter, the wood-louse or “ Slater.” 


Salt Marshes and their Inhabitants. - 31 


than in any other genus. The segments of the body and their 
corresponding appendages may be seen very clearly, there being 
little or nothing of that pressing together and consolidation of 
several parts which is so constantly exhibited in both the higher 
andlower orders.* We should scarcely expect to find in an animal 
of this grade much development of maternal instinct, and yet 
some observers have noticed such manifestations. The ova of 
crustacea are mostly attached in a considerable mass, to the 
abdominal or false feet of the female. In Gammarus (and 
in some other genera) they remain im situ for some time after 
having taken on the crustacean form, and even when able to 
swim freely, they will often hover round the parent in a little 
cloud, and when any danger threatens, again seek refuge 
amongst her legs. G. locusta is easily recognized by three 
conspicuous red spots on each side of the body, upon the ab- 
dominal segments. Itis a very common species, butis almost 
confined to-the upper portion of the littoral zone, haunting chiefly 
shallow tidal pools, and especially those heaps of decaying sea- 
weed which strew the shore between tide marks. In such 
situations it may often be found in countless numbers. Its 
range extends up tidal rivers to the utmost verge of brackish 
water, and it may even be met with in ditches to which salt 
water gains access only once or twice in the year. . 

A species of Sphzroma (S. rugicauda ?) is one of the most 
generally distributed. crustacea of brackish water, and is, 
indeed, almost the only representative of the Isopods met with 
im such places. The species of this and some allied genera 
(Armadillidium, Porcellio, etc.) have the curious habit of rolling 
themselves into a little ball when handled, remaining motionless 
while in this position. The terrestrial species have obtained 
for this reason the trivial name of “ pill beetles.”? It is remark- 
able that some of these animals are able to live indifferently, 
either’in the deep sea or on dry ground removed from any 
marine influence. ‘Thus we have taken Porcellio scaber abun- 
dantly on dry sandy hedge-banks, and likewise from the nets 
of trawlers im fifteen fathoms water. Such a fact is very 
curious and suggestive, quite as much so as many of the 
hypothetical cases put by Mr. Darwin in his work on the 
* Origin of Species,’ and which have been so much ridiculed 
by the opponents of his theory. 

Among the Entomostraca of salt-marshes we find some very 
interesting species. One of the bivalved forms (Cyprideis torosa) 
was first described by Professor T. Rupert Jones, as a fossil 
species occurring in the Tertiary strata. Mr. Jones likewise 
took it living in ditches near Gravesend, and it has since been 


* For an account of the structure of the skeleton of a typical Crustacean, vide 
INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER, vol. iii., page 38. 


2 Salt Marshes and their Inhabitants. 


found abundantly in both fresh and brackish waters in the 
counties of Somerset, Durham, and Northumberland.* When 
it does occur it is generally in prodigious numbers; a fact 
accounted for by the unusually large number of ova which it 
bears. The peculiar ringed and serrated hairs which occur on 
the limbs of this genus and of Cythere are very beautiful and 
interesting objects for the microscope. 

Cyprideis has no power of swimming, its motions being 
restricted to crawling; but some of the natatory Entomostraca 
are found in similar places. These are chiefly of the same 
family to which the common and well-known Cyclops quadri- 
corns belongs. The males of these animals have the right 
antenna very strongly developed, and provided about the centre 
with a hinge-joint, so that it can be flexed and used as a clasp- 
ing organ. In some species, to render the apparatus still more 
effectual, there is on each side of the hinge a plate armed with 
spines or serratures, by which the grasp must be greatly 
strengthened. The females may be seen toward the end of 
summer and autumn, carrying about with them, attached to the 
first seement of the abdomen, numbers of elongated cylindrical, 
or fusiform bodies of a yellowish or deep red colour. These 
are the “spermatic tubes,’ which have been fixed in that 
situation by the male ; a curious mode of fecundation, which so 
far as we know is peculiar to this family of Entomostraca. 

The highest, or stalk-eyed order of Crustacea, is represented 
in brackish water by three species—Palemon varians, Mysis 
vulgaris, and the common shrimp (Crangon vulgaris). The 
last named is of almost universal occurrence, and calls for no 
special remark here; the other two species are comparatively 
rare. The Palemon is much smaller than its congener, P. 
serratus (the common edible.prawn), and also quite deficient in 
the beautifully variegated colouring which adorns that species. 
Like the rest of its genus, it is very timid and very agile, so 
that, except with a tolerably large net, it is difficult to catch it 
when in clear water. In muddy places the best way of getting 
specimens is to force the net into the mud, so as to enclose a 
considerable quantity; then on washing it a number of the 
prawns will probably remain behind. It is curious that 
although these creatures seem so much frightened at the sight 
of a net, they will, if one’s hand is put quickly into the water 
and kept there for a minute or two, come boldly up to it, hover- 
ing about, and feeling it all over with their long antennz. A 
crowd of them may be thus collected in a very short time, but 
the slightest movement makes them dart off rapidly, and Ihave 


always found it impossible to catch one in this way, even though - 


* Vide a paper by the present writer in Annals and Magazine of Natural 
History, January, 1864; also in INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER, vol. i. p. 454, 


Salt Marshes and their Inhabitants.  - 30 


they willsometimes come andbask almost inthe palm of thehand ; 
probably the warmth of the hand is the attracting influence. 
The species of Mysis, or ‘‘Opposum shrimp,” mentioned 
above, living as it does both in fresh and strongly brackish 
water, brings before us a very interesting problem, and one by 
no means easy of accurate solution, yet concerning which we 
have some few data which may guide us to a right result. We 
find that most fresh-water genera possess also some represen- 
tatives inhabiting the sea. And it at once strikes us that it 
must be something more than a merely fortuitous coincidence 
by which animals so far separated in their habits agree so 
closely in structure as to be included in the same genus. If 
Mr. Darwin is right, as we believe he is, in supposing that at 
least all genera of the same order are descendedfrom onecommon 
ancestor, we must seek for an explanation of the present state 
of things by looking backward to some remote period when the 
progenitors of the existent fresh water and marine forms were 
not separated by the impassable barriers which now divide 
them. We extract the following interesting remarks on this 
subject from Messrs. Spence Bate, and Westwood’s History of 
the British Sessile-eyed Crustacea (vol. 1. p. 390). With refer- 
ence to the facts which we have mentioned, these authors say : 
“The key may be suggested by the interesting discoveries of 
Cedarstrém, Olofson, and Widigrew, in the lakes of Vetter and 
‘Vener, in the south of Sweden, of which an account has been 
published by Lovén. These two inland fresh-water lakes are 
situated on high ground, and have the surface of their waters 
300 feet above the level of the Baltic, whereas the bottom is 
120 feet below such level. In these lakes (which appear to 
have been lifted up with the gradual uprising of the country) 
have been found several genera and species of Crustacea, three 
of which are Amphipoda, which are affirmed to be identical 
with marine ones, namely, Gammaracanthus loricatus (Sabine, 
Ross, Kréyer), Pontoporeia affinis (Lindstrém), and Gammarus 
cancelloides (Gerstfeldt). The first is now only known to exist 
in the Arctic seas, the second in the Baltic, and the last was 
found in Lake Baikal, in Central Asia. It is therefore sug- 
gested by Loven that when the land was raisedso as to convert 
these waters from marine bays into inland lakes, these marine 
species were retained within the basins, the waters of which 
have since been changed, through the agency of springs, into 
fresh-water; and with the gradual transfer of the water the 
habits of the animals have also changed gradually, and that 
without any outward alteration of form, Professor Lovén thinks 
that there is sufficient evidence to show that this change in the 
conditions of these lakes must have taken place during the 
great glacial period, at a time when the animals now found in 
VOL, V.—NO. I. D 


4 Optical Ghosts. 


it (and which are known at this day to inhabit only the extreme 
north) could have lived in the same latitude as the south of 
Sweden. The evidence of these fresh-water lakes suggests 
that similar changes in the relative position of sea and land may 
have been the cause of our having fresh-water Crustacea nearly 
allied to marine species in our rivers and inland streams.” 
Higher in the scale of life the inhabitants of salt marshes 
are few and far between ; a few sticklebacks and an occasional 
gasteropodous mollusc of some common species will almost 
exhaust the list. We should not, however, pass entirely with- 
out mention a very interesting nudibranchiate mollusc, which 
has been found in a few places. This is Alderia modesta, a 
pretty little species of a greenish colour, living chiefly among 
the tufts of Vaucheria, upon which it feeds. Where it occurs at 
all it is mostly in great abundance ; but the only British localities 
hitherto recorded are Lougher Marsh, near Swansea, a marsh 
near Cork, and Hylton Dene, near Sunderland. Associated 


with it may sometimes be found a little black slug of the genus 


Limapontia. 

Salt marshes such as these, whose inhabitants have been the 
subjects of our paper, are perhaps the nearest analogues which 
our islands can now exhibit of those extensive lagoons which, 
under the fostering influences of an almost tropical climate, 
supported the dense forests of the Carboniferous period. It has 
been inferred trom certain animal remains found in the coal 
strata, that those lagoons must have been, in some cases at 
least, brackish; but considering the widely different aquatic 
conditions under which it has been shown that the same species 
may exist, too great caution can scarcely be exercised in the 
application of any evidence derived from fossil remains. 


OPTICAL GHOSTS. 


Tue old mode of obtaining spectral illusions by means of con- 
cave mirrors presented many difficulties, which were practically 
insuperable when the images were required to be on a large 
scale, and to be comparable in sharpness and apparent density 
with actual and similar objects seen at the same time. ‘Lately 
these difficulties have been wonderfully overcome, as the 
“Patent Ghosts” exhibited at the Polytechnic, and elsewhere, 
abundantly testify. So great has been the popularity of these 
exhibitions that, now the mystery is out, and an explanation is 
offered by Mr. Dircks to the public, the book* purporting to 
reveal the secret would have been widely welcomed had it 

* The Ghost, as ote in the Spectre Drama, Popularly T)lustrating the 


Marvellous Optical Illusions, called the Dircksian Phantasmagoria, by Henry 
Dircks, C.E. Shaw, 


Optical Ghosts. : 30 


been better written, and confined to its legitimate subject. 
Mr. Dircks complains of others, and probably with reason ; 
but about quarrels of this kind the public care little, and when 
they pay their money for the litle book entitled ‘‘'The Ghost 
as Produced in the Spectre Drama, by Henry Dircks,. Civil 
Engineer,” they do not expect to find nearly all of it devoted 
to a partially mtelligible account of grievances with which 
they have nothing to do. The amount of explanation given 
will prove provokingly small, and, to those unacquainted with 
optics, of little use; while those who are familiar with that 
science did not want it at all. Mr. Dircks’ merit in the patent 
ghost business appears to consist in the fact that he saw how 
to utilize the long-known principles involved in the neutral 
tmt reflector, used by microscopists as a substitute for the 
more expensive camera lucida. In this instrument a little 
plate of thin glass is placed so that the eye looks at it at an 
angle of 45°, and receives the reflection of the image which 
the microscope forms of the object on the stage. Thus the eye 
is affected, not quite so strongly, but just in the same way as 
if it had looked straight down the microscope tube; and if a 
piece of white paper is held below the reflector, the object 
will appear projected upon it, and the eye can, in addition to. 
receiving the reflection, look through the glass and see the 
hand and pencil by which the outline is traced. 

To make this kind of action plainer, let a few simple 
experiments be performed, and let the reader remember that 
the angle of mcidence is always equal to the angle of reflec- 
tion, and that objects seen in a looking-glass seem just as far 
behind it as they are actually before it. If any of our young 
readers do not distinctly understand the angle of incidence 
question, they can easily resolve it with marbles or bagatelle 
balls. Let them place a box, with square sides, on the table, 
and make a chalk lime, so as to form a perpendicular to one of 
its sides, and fallmg on the centre. Then, if a marble is 
bowled against the box so as to strike it slantingly on one 
side of the perpendicular, it will be thrown back in a similar 
slant on the other side of the perpendicular. The rays of light 
behave like the marble or bagatelle ball in this respect. 

For our first experiment, take a hand looking-glass, and 
see your face in it; then incline the bottom of the glass away 
from you till your face is quite. ost, and then your body, or 
hand, if im the way, will appear plamly. You lose sight of 
the reflection of your face because the angle of the rays from 
it which fall upon the glass is such that the resulting angle of 
reflection sends them away from you. You see your body, or 
hand, because the angle of their cident rays is such that the 
resulting angle of reflection carries the image straight to your 


36 Optical Ghosts. 


eyes. Old writers were well aware of the fact that a plane 
mirror could be so arranged that a person looking at it should 
not see himself, but see something else, which might be behind 
a screen, and quite out of his natural view. It is, indeed, very 
easy to make a looking-glass show you objects quite out of 
your line of vision, and one of the facets of a moderate-sized 
diamond will easily enable you to see by reflection any object 
in a room, when you appear only to be looking at the finger 
that carries the ring in which it is set. 

Having made a few experiments with the looking-glass, 
take a pane of window glass, or, what is better if you have it, 
a piece of plate glass, the surface of which is more true, and 
hold it upright on the table near a window. A few inches in 
front of it place any small object on the table; a lady’s cotton 
reel will do extremely well. Stand upright with your back to 
the window, but leave room for the light to fall freely on the 
top of the reel. Look slantingly down at the glass, and you 
will see the image of the reel reflected by its surface, and 
apparently as far behind as it really is before. The top on 
which the light falls will be briliant, and the part that is in 
the shade will be reflected in shadow. Vary the experiment 
by placing a second reel, exactly like the first, as much behind 
the glass as the other is placed in front of it. You then have two 
reels presented to your eye, one actual, and the other spectral, 
and you can, as Mr. Dircks remarks of a similar case, so 
arrange the objects, and your position, that the image reflected 
from the surface of the glass shall exactly correspond with the 
outlines of the real reel seen through the glass. If you put 
any small article on the top of the reel in front of the glass, or 
some one else puts a similar object on the top of the reel 
behind the glass, the optical effects will be the same. 

Now make a third experiment. Puta box, or thick book, 
in front of you, so that you cannot see the reel, when placed 
on the table just under its edge. Then hold the glass a little 
way off, and upright as before, so that you see it from top to 
bottom. You may then obtain a reflected image of the reel, 
which the book conceals, and if a strong light were thrown 
upon it, the image would be as sharp, distinct, and apparently 
solid as the reality. : 

Thus this kind of optical ghost is very easily made, and 
Mr. Dircks suggests a few effective tricks. We have not dwelt 
at any length upon verbal explanations, because everybody 
can make the simple experiments suggested, and they will 
explain the matter much better than a lengthened essay could 
effect. We ought, however, to add, that Messrs. Horne and 


Thornthwaite supply a portable apparatus, by which the © 


Dircksian ghosts can be easily and strikingly shown. 


’ 
= [2 _— 


Optical Ghosts. 37 


Mr. J. H. Brown, acting upon another set of optical 
principles, offers us “Ghost’s Everywhere, and of any Colour.”* 
We need not stay to comment on the explanatory part of this 
volume, but proceed to the pictures, which are drawnand coloured 
so as to excite similar images on the retina in accidental colours. 
Our readers have no doubt often tried the experiment of 
sticking coloured wafers on a sheet of white paper, holding them 
a strong light, and staring at them fixedly for a few seconds. 
If this is done, and the eye then taken off the wafer, and 
turned on to the white paper, the wafers’ image will appear 
sharp and distinct, but in another colour. A red wafer will 
look green (or blue and yellow combined), a blue one orange 
(or red and yellow combined), a yellow one purple (or blue 
and red combined), and wafers of composite hues will be 
affected in an analogous way. ‘These “spectral,” “ acci- 
dental,” or ‘ complementary” colours—for they are known 
under these three appellations—appear bright to the eye in 
proportion to its sensitiveness to the original colour, to the 
strength of the illumination, dnd to the steadiness with which 
the original object has been contemplated. Mr. Brown finds 
the time occupied in counting twenty, or about a quarter of 
a minute, sufficient to impress his figures upon most eyes, if 
the plates are well lit up. Has directions are to look steadily, 
for the time specified, at a dot or asterisk to be found in each 
plate, “the plate being well illuminated by either artificial or 
day light. Then turning the eyes to the ceiling, the wall, 
or the sky, or, better still, to a white sheet hung on the 
wall of a darkened room (not totally dark), and looking 
rather steadily at one point, the spectre will soon begin to 
make its appearance, increasing in intensity, and then gradually 
vanishing, to reappear and again vanish.” 

The Brownian spectres depend upon the tendency of 
strong impressions to remain a little while upon the eye, and 
to reappear in accidental colours. The plates are certainly 
very effective, and well designed for the purpose; but we 
should recommend an avoidance of needless horrors in future 
series. The grotesque and the beautiful will both work just 
as vividly as the ghastly, and several objects in the present 
series could not be judiciously introduced to the notice of 
boys and girls whose disposition was nervous, or whose 
superstitious feelings had been excited by injudicious nursery 
tales. 

Mr. Brown’s direction to enlarge the spectral appear- 
ance by looking for it on a white sheet, or wall, some distance 


* Spectropia, or Surprising Spectral Illusions, showing Ghosts Everywhere 
and of any Colour, by J. H. Brown. First series, with sixteen illustrations 
Griffiths and Co. 


38 The Ruins of Copan. 


off, is very ingenious, and brings us back to the microscopic 
neutral tint reflector with which we started. This re- 
flector enables drawings to be made much larger than the 
actual image which the microscope transmits to the eye. 
Suppose, for example, the image represented an insect one 
inch long, and the draughtsman tried to sketch it with a long 
pencil on a sheet of paper placed on the floor, he would have 
to make a picture on the floor as big as an object must be to 
equal in apparent size a far smaller object nearer the eye. This 
may be made plain by a diagram, and plainer by an experi- 
ment. ‘Take, for example, a sixpence, and hold it at sucha 
distance from the eye that its diameter exactly equals that of 
a large picture across the room. Then the sixpence, at so 
many inches, and fractions of an inch, from the eye, looks as 
broad as the great picture so many feet off. Fora second 
illustration, hold the sixpence steadily m front of the eye, 
about six or eight imches off, and let some one else stand by 
the wall and make a mark corresponding with the circular 
space the sixpence hides. In this case the great circle, so 
many feet or yards off, is equivalent to the little sixpence at 
six or eight inches off. In the instance of the image reflected 
by the neutral tint glass used with the microscope the pencil 
was employed to trace out an outline that would be equivalent 
to the reflected image seen much closer, and in Mr. Brown’s 
enlarged ghosts, the optical image takes the size of his plates, 
as they appear at a convenient distance from the eye, but they 
seem as big as they would look if drawn on a larger scale on 
the wall on which they are fancied to appear. 


THE RUINS OF COPAN. 


In our number for May, 1863, we gave a beautiful view of an 
enormous sculptured monolith from the pre-incarial ruins of 
Tia Huanaco in Bolivia, formerly Upper Peru, accompanied 
by a paper, in which Mr. Bollaert collected together the 
very little that is known concerning this kind of worls. 
The whole subject of American antiquities is under a dense 
cloud. We can only make rude guesses concerning the 
dates of the remarkable remains, or of the extinct and for- 
gotten people by whom they were executed. It is how- 
ever of importance that accurate representations should 
be preserved of the principal objects of interest, and for this 
purpose photography is of great value, and fortunately admits 
of reproduction at avery moderate price. The Tia Huanaco 
ruins form a portion of numerous works, extending over a con- 
siderable geographical area, and all bearing evidence of haying 


The Ruins of Copan. natal 39 


been produced under similar conditions of knowledge, senti- 
ment, and skill. They certainly could not have belonged to a 
barbarous age, because they evince a considerable command of 
mechanical powers, and show an advanced though highly con- 
ventional style of art. 

Messrs. Smith, Beck, and Beck have recently made a 
valuable addition to the means of study at the disposal of 
archeologists, by publishing a highly interesting series of 
stereoscopic slides, from photographs taken by Mr. Albert Sal- 
vin, of the ruins of Copan, Honduras. They comprise richly 
sculptured stones, that no doubt formed portions of consider- 
able buildings, bearing in their hieroglyphic ornamentation a 
strong likeness to our Tia Huanaco plate. A careful mspection 
of the series will show that the artistic skill possessed by the 
unknown workers in an unknown age was very considerable ; 
and we cannot doubt that some system of mythology, and some 
facts of curious history lie hid in allegorical representations, 
which we have no key to unlock. 

Mr. Salvin’s series of slides are well worth study, and 
though we are not disposed to waste time in mere conjectures, 
we cannot relinquish the hope that the clue to this American 
mystery may yet be found out. We shall not attempt a 
detailed description of these remarkable objects; but they 
all belong to the Tia Huanaco type; and we agree with Mr. 
Salvin im considering that they were associated with the 
mythology of the people by whom they were wrought. The 
stone in which they are executed, isa close-grain porphyry, and 
the preservation of the sculpture has enabled the photographic 
apparatus to produce excellent and highly interesting copies, 
on which the labours of the archeologist may not be exerted 
im vain. 

No. 7 of the series represents a very remarkable monolith, 
1% feet high. A face, powerfully sculptured upon it, looks 
much more like a portrait than a conventional figure; the’ 
features bear some resemblance to the Mongolian type. No. 
20 is an admirable, though conventional, jaguar’s head, 
equalling in force of expression any analogous Huropean 
work. No. 13 is a circular stone, supposed to be sacrificial. 
It has a rounded surface, and a border of twisted or cable 
pattern. There are in all twenty-four slides, accompanied by 
a descriptive pamphlet. 


ag 


Havometer, corvected 


40 Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT THE 
KEW OBSERVATORY. 


EatrruDpE 51° 28" 6" w., Loverrune O 1S’ 47" w. 


BE G. M. WHIPPLE. 


Reduced to mesn of dsy. Temperature of Arr. Ato aw, 2.30PM, andirx, 
NF respectively. 
_ | Caleulsted [ow 
= fae oe == = a 
7 i. | le/eles jefe] 2 
= Sc 2 = | co 2S z= = es = | 
= s = = | & | 2 ey oc 
alsiz Els es leo! & == ‘ 
of Ge ) &Blel=i=- [sFls =o Direction of Wind. 
= 2 = BP = so ae == 
ei 2 | a laistfEsslz la = 
S| |2)| 2 )e2e/4 | & | 
ie al de 
== > Pated 
inckes. a | TG | ick =) | » de 
Oct.1 | 29-250) 541/526 5-408) 575 507) 63 8, 7, 7 SW, W, W by S. 
2 29-788 517490 91-361) 555 | 482 7310,10,10 SW by W,SW, SW. 
3 | 29°877 569 53-7, 96-453) 598 [5 $910, 10,10 SW, SW by 8, SW by 8. 


_. {| — | —]— | ea lara 5 = = 
(29952, 486 470, 95,337) 553 | 376, 17-7] 7, 10,1 WSW, §, SSE. 
29-946 46-5 373 “73, 240| 522 (372150, 0, 4, 9) NW by W, NE, ESE. 
. 7, 403, 17910,10,10 E by 8, E by N, E 
(29550 577 346 90-436 633 536 97) 5, 3,10 EEE 
99558 51-4443, 90/319; 563 |493 75 
29619 57S 489 “75)-359) 613 | 468 145) 


: 
F 
; 


= 533503 20-377| 580 47610463, 1 S,SE,SEby E 
(29326 522.485 $8,354] 577 494, $310, 9, 1 —-S&, SSW, S by W. 
29630 559 50-4 83 378) 61-1 |500,111 6, 7, 2 $ 

578 | 46 


29576 52-9 53-0 100-413) 578 490, 5510,10,10 ——,—. 
(29959 53-0 497) 89 369 581/486 953, 4, 5 SW,SW,SWbyS. 
(3005 533,465 “75 331) 587 482/105 6, 2 7 W, WSW, —. 
aa as By ee eS be 
(30065 555543 96-4232, 597 547) 5010, 10,10 SW, SW, SW. 
30064 53-4529 98-412 59-1 532 4910,10,10 SW by S, NNW, — 
30132 541529 6-412 601 af 9910, 7, 7 = 


307117 S552 51-1 87|-387, 612 51-0, 102 10, 5, 4. SW by W, WswW, — 
| 83305) 556 426130 1, 1, 2 WNW, Nw, —. 
| 555 32-9 22610, 10,1 —. 
53-7 | 335) 202)... 
, S23 37-6 147) 7, 9 i 
9 494 34614910, 9, 1 
415 128 6,10, 2 Sby W, W by S, SW. 


— 


- NE by E, NE. 


BSBRSRREEEEBERSRREGKE So maH me 


543 |422 121/10,10, 2 8S by W, S by W, SW. 
53-5 | 42-8 107)10, 10, S$ by E, 3, W. 
508 | 393,110 1, 3, O SW by W,SW, SW by S 


To obtain the Barometric pressure at the sea-level these numbers must be imereased by “037 inch. 


Observations ai the Kew Obsercnui 


Meicoro 


TOURLY MOVIMIN 


mont, 


Day, 1;/2);8/)4 
How, 

12 | 47! al 1g] 20 

L | 16) 10] 14) 26 

2 | 19) Lal ial 24 

4% ) 12) dal 16) 18 

4 | 10) 19] 16) 17 

5 | 14) 11) 1a} 20 

4 © | 10) 10) 19] 28 

7 | 16) 9] 97] a7 

4 | 18) al gal 20 

) | 16) Va) gal ga 

'L | aa} ag} wal 1 

12 | a6) isl gal iw 

| 8) dl 26 16 

2 | 19] 18] 23} 9 

8} 4a} tol gal y 

| 10} 14] gb] 4 

G} 10) 28] 6 

i 6 4) 19] 22 Al 

m fs 6) 11] 26) 8 

5 8] 11) a6] 4 

M b] 14) gi) 2 

1 4) 10) Bo] 8 

1a 0} 11) 26) 2 
otal 

Daily ( |gysigze/5gajaa8 
Moye 


6 
A 
| 
+) 
4) 
9 2 
1] 2 
G| 2 
1) 2 
11 4i 
Bi 6 
LO) & 
10; 6 
LO) 4 
8) 2 
Hl 64 
a 66 
GO) 6 
6) 2 
bo 
A\ 6 
fh) 66 
Gg) 66 
7” 6 
6) UOC 
116) 92 


407/166)186/408 


832) 664) 


HOU 


1] 10 

14] 18 

17) 16 
1} O] 14) 0} 10) 18 
14) 1] 16) 6] 18] 17 
12] 7) 12) 8) 10) Bo 
18) 6 10) Bi 16) Vai 
8) 7) Gi 1 1s) 1s 
10, 8 8} 62] 1p) 18 
| 6! oO 2] gal 1s 
10; 7 7 8) 28) 21 
12; 10/ 6} 1] 26] 16 
6g) 68} 68) 20) «TI 


§O9}12'7/281)191/828)408 


NN 


mt et te 


1A0 


se oes ee 


= 


—eoeRnm» 


ws 


- 
— 


mene 


i) OF MII WIND (IN MILA) AS RNCORDED DY ROBINSON'S ANT MOMHDNR—Oov, 1408, 


Hourly 


Means, 


10 
dha 
116 
12'7 
140 
10) 
146 
182 
163 
12'1 
11'2 


42 Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT THE ~ 
KEW OBSERVATORY. 


LATITUDE 51° 28’ 6” N., LONGITUDE 0° 18’ 47” w. - 


ra 


1863. Reduced to mean of day. |Temperatureof Air.) At9304.m., 2°30P.m., and5 P.M. 
aS ee eee eee —— respectively. 
| Caleulatea. 
3 Hy = op 
2 het a Ls ea eee » 
3 4 : ores = : > Rain- 
Day 2h, S lates ©) walker 2S wa readil 
of Bete | st | a eeee Teer, er 9°30 
Oe ee (2 ela eles ele ee |. 
on se /eielg > a BS ag Direction of Wind. 
om 5 me ai op | be Baar 
Spm ae eee toten price Seg She 83 
ba ete fe te ee ee = A 2 
a |e roe Rt Bec Pe ba : 
| Ble |a - 
inches. | sk 3 inch.) é a inches 
Nov. 1 bee | col asa (GARB, ome een 003 
pa eee 28° 998, 43-9 39'5 86, ‘260, 48-4 | 39°6, 88) 8,10, 9SWby W,SW by W, WSW.| -777 
» 3. | 29°761) 47-8) 446} -89) 310, 52°5 | 37-8) 14°7\10, 10, 10) SW, SW, SW. 056 
» 4 | 30°002) 56:0) 50°4) -83 378 59°4 | 42:8) 16'6/10, 10,10 SW by W, WSW, SW byS.| 151 
» 5 | 80°161) 54-9) 50°5) +86) 880) 57°6 | 52°8| 48/10, 10, 10\SW by W, SW by W, SW.| -121 
» 6 |80'481 41-9) 361) 82) 230, 45:1 |137°3| 7-8 5, 5, 4 NE by E, ESE, —. ‘044 
» 7 |80'155| 48'S, 48°3) -98/°352 53-4: | 34-7| 18°7/10, 10,10) S by W, SW by W, W. | ‘000 
SS ioe, Ut ae. | eve | weveyloawe- | Ook (Soe ag sist “aa 127 
» 9 | 80°228) 43°5/ 31°9) -67|°198| 47-7 | 41-2) 6-5] 1, 4, NE, NE by E, NE. 151 


» 10 | 29-753 
» 11 | 29:376 
» 12 | 29°939 
» 13 | 30-269 
14 | 30°262) 


9 
41:0| 37°3| -88/*240) 45-7 | 244/901-3110, 7, 3| SW, SW, W by N. 
385) 35'S, -91/-228| 43-0 | 29°9|13-1/10, 9, 2INE by E, NE by NN byW,| - 
39°9| 344-82) -217| 447 | 380-414-310, 2, 6| N by E, N, N by W. 
41-1) 37°2| -87|'239| 47-0 | 28°1|18°9| 9, 10, 10] SW by W, SSW, SW by S. 
47-1) 447) +92) °311) 49°9 | 28°1) 21°8/10, 10,10} SW, WSW, W by S. 


PMD cle Oh soe AP eh a alos aes ted 81) OA BI” Si oe ‘000 
» 16 | 307144) 50°7| 49°4, +96, °366, 54°6 | 46°0| 8°6)10,10, 4 SW, SW, SW. ‘002 
» 17 | 30155) 49°9| 45:0, 84/314) 53°3 | 47°9| 54/10, 10, 10 W, W by 8, SW. - 
» 18 | 30:234) 47°7| 43°3| -86)°296, 50-0 | 46:9) 3:1] 8, 9,10 S, 8, S by W. “00 
» 19 | 30194] 46:8) 43-0, -88 °293 50:0 | 43°7| 6:3) 9,10, 10 —, SW, SW. 000 
» 20 | 307119) 46°7| 43°6} -90,°299, 50°7 |42°2) 8'5110, 3, 1 SSW, 8, S. “006 
9 21 | 29°678) 50°7| 480) -91/ ‘348; 56°3 | 38:2/18'1) 4, 6, 10 SSE, 8, S. “00€ 
feet A es SFr PRD ean men 8 alfe 8 RT = “17C 
» 23 | 29°856| 480) 45:0) +90) 314) 52°1 | 41°7/10°4) 1, 10,10 Sw, SW by 8, “Sw. "02: 
» 24 | 29°870) 52°4) 52:1) 99) ‘401; 55:0 | 44°5) 10°50, 10, 10 8, Sw, SW by W. 15 
» 25 | 30:075) 52°2) 49°9) +92) 372) 55°8 |50°6) 5-2) 9, 7,10 SSE, 8 by 5, 8 by E. “026 
» 26 | 30°348, 49°6| 48°6| +97|°356; 55:8 | 44°1) 11°7/10, 10, 10 SE, SE by BE, SE. “006 
» 27 | 30°338) 46-6) 43'9) +91) 302) 49°5 | 46-2) 3-310, 7,10 SE, SE, ESE, “006 
», 28 |30°293| 42°6| 38'1) *85| 247) 46:0 | 42:9 81 9, 8, 8 SE, ESE, SE by E. 006 
*) SS eee | 446 288158)... ” ie: “00 
» 8 | 80117) 365) 35:2 ‘95|*223' 40°2 | 28-1) 12-1 10, "%, 5 I, NNE, NNE. ‘O1E 


th 
Mourn” {| 30-032! 466 43-0, -89 “31 2991. 
| 


* To obtain the Barometric pressure at the sea-level these numbers must be increased by ‘037 inch. 


A8 


Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


0 SOEIEEEEES SIS 


HOURLY MOVEMENT OF THE WIND (IN MILES) AS RECORDED BY ROBINSON’S ANEMOMETER, 


—NovEMBER, 1863, 


. { 
Day. |1|2/3|/4/5|6| 7] 8] 9 |10]11/19/13/14/15/16/17/ 18119] 20 21 22 23 | 24! 95 26) 27 28 | 29| 30 ade 
Hour. | 
12 | 49] 18) 24| 201 19 Bs) Teas o)-.5| 5 4) 9) 12) 4) 8) 1) 5) 20) 9) 9} 11] 4] q1l 6 4 9°8 
3 | 20| 80 23) 24] 15] 4) 1) 9} 2a} a} | | 2} 5 4) 841] of 9| 8/10 20| 9) 7] a] al al el 4 100 
2 | 15] 25] 20| 25] 15) 7| 2] 11) 90| 2 6) 3} 4} 4) 13} 14, 12] 8) 4} 1118) 9! si 7 4) sl 6 al 10°3 
3 | 15) 20| 14] 24] 14} 5} 2} sl a0] al | 6! 4l 61 5) a1/ 44| 9| -4| 4) 11) 18} 5) 7] 7) 2) gt BF 3) | 9:0 
13] 18) 17) 25) 16) 11) 5) 9! 22) Ol108) 5) 3] 8i 5) si 14} iol 6 al 419] 5) 5] 8] 2! 10) Ji 9a) Poe 
J 6 14) 16| 13} 21] 15) 7} 3} 9) 17) 1 4) 4) 7) 5) 9) 18) 12; 5) 6 9! 18) 6} 5} 8] 4/10 7 10187) 92 
4) 7 | 13) 12; 10) 19) 15) 7 4) 13) 19) oO 4) 3} 5} 5}. 91 15). 10}. 8) 10) 15, 15) 7 5} 7} 9} 7 Bl 5! =|) ~|=6(90 
g | 18] 14) 7 22) 14) 7 6) 15) 19) 1 8) 2) 4) 5) 12) 14) 12)- 1) 9] 11) 15] 7} 7) Jo | a i Gti: CE O'S 
g | 12) 10) 18) 19) 17] 8] 4) 14) 18] 3 4| 4) 6] 4| 10) 14) 5) 4° 8] 13) 13] 3) 9! 10] 7 si 6 2 | 88 
10 | 27) 15| 14] 21) 16) 10) 5) 138/17) 7 5] 4| 5] 5] 91 16] 6 1 8 16 17; 8 7 11) 8 10) 9] 2 101 
(41 22) 15) 18) 23) 19) 10) 7 10) 23] 13) 8| 13) 5) 7 %| 15) 19} 13] 6 10) 20 22] 11| 9) 15) 121 Jo 11) 3 \ 12'8 
ig | 24) 15) 11/ 20) 19) 7 7 10) 21) 12) 10} 15) 9} 5] 7| 19) 16} 8} 6| 10 23' 19) 14! 11] 11] 11} 8} 8| 3 | 121 
(al 20} 20) 16) 22) 22) 6) 11) 17). 23) 10) 12) 18/ 11]. 3| 7| 10] 19] 16] 8} 10) 21) 21) 13] 13 17| 12) 7° 8/44 13°8 
g | 19) 16) 15} 22) 20) 3] 9 16) 20) 7 10) 13] 8} 5! 11) 11| 19) 16] 10) 5 23° 20) 14) 8} 12) 10} 8| 8} 20! 13°0 
| g | 20) 14) 19] 18) 23) 4) 6 17/19) 3 9} 13] 8} 4) 8) 9) 16) 13] 5) 6! 27, 19 12] 9] 191 8) 5 6 | 119 
4 | L7| 17 20) 19) 22) 2 718} 12} 7; 9} 9} 7] 6| 5] 8] 12) 14] 8|- 5! 31/13] 19! aa} 44 10 6 4 116 
| zn | 12) 18) 18| 23) 20) 1/ 7 21) 9] 8| 9) 6% 4} 6] 6] 12] 11] 5] 7 38\ 19) 14] 12 12) 9)-2) 6 61) 112 
A 6 9| 19) 17| 26) 19| 1) 9) 17 5 6; <5; 7| 2) 71 4} Lo; 22! 7! 5B} 27! 13] qo) 9 16) 9/5 Sr Sos 10:2 
i) 6} 22; 16} 25) 18} 1) 7/17) 4 5} 4) 7) 2) 7] 5] 12) 10) 8) 2 28 13! 9/8] 12; 10) -6| 4 9°9 
| 8 7| 34) 16] 26) 14/ Oo} 6| 22) 2 4) 4| 6) 2) 9} 8] 11} 12] 9} 4! 25) 12) 6] 9! 10! 12! 10: 10 10°7 
g | 21) 35) 16) 25] 15) 1) 9 28) 8 6). 5) 5] 8) 6) 10/9} 10) 38) 5} 23) 12] 8] 9| 742i of 3 10°6 
ides 14} 30| 18} 26} 9] o| 9] 25) 3 6, 7) 5) 5) 5) 11) 10) 12) 5) 2! Is} 12) 4] ~9}- 131-15] yI -3 10°6 
(a1 15) 22) 20; 25) 5) 0} 9| 25) 4) 3) 4) 5} 8} 5/11) 7} 13} 9 4} 20; 8} 5/12! 8| 14) gf 7 103 
12 | 22) 22) 19/21! 2) 1). 7 20) 2 3} 2) 8] 7} 6].10) 5} 5) 4) 8f 17) 9f of iol 7 9) 7g 88 
S99 | 8 YS Pe SS Se | ee SS J | ES] SJ I OF OOO OO OO | | | | KE SE I 
Total 
Daily ( |369)477 389/541|383|105 145 371/346] 290 158)127)118/142)228|314/254/142/138)445 377\211|207|246/203'187)/145| 345 10°3 
Move- ‘ 


44 ~ Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT THE 
KEW OBSERVATORY. 


LATITUDE 51° 28’ 6” N., LONGITUDE 0° 18’ 47” w. 


a 


1863. Reduced to mean of day. Temperature of Air. At 9°30 A.nt., 2.30 p.m., and 5P.M., 
———eEeEeEe————————————————EeE——EE respectively. 
Calculated. | 5 x» a 
3 # Sa -1S 
Se, a 5 5 28 oO g, ES 
me} ee) el ela le lee eela | 2s 
Month. os =n ae ze bles Aa at | Brg Direction of Wind, 
Sie if |F is |ge |8s/a] £8 
2 = ° 50 o a oo 
=e al Re oe Vesa BA = tee =| A 2 
ze |g als (3 (gable q 
o as} oO e<c = Ay 
aa e a |e \4a 
inches.| , . inch. " fs E 
Dec. 1 |29°696) 47-2 46-3) -97|"329) 51‘1 | 28:6| 22°5/10, 10, 10 SSE, 8S, § by W. 
35 2 |29°122| 47-7| 4271) -82/'284) 541 | 43-0/11:1| 7,10, 1) 8, WNW, W by N. 
» 8 |29°329] 43°3 27-7| -58|°171| 47:7 |37-6|10°1] 9, 3, 3 W, SW, W byS. 
», 4 | 30-358) 41-4 35°3| -81|'224| 47-1 | 33-2! 18-9] 0,10,10/ WSW,SW,S by W. 
»» B |80°105| 49:0 43-4) -82/°297| 51°3 | 36:9) 14-4/10, 10, 10 SW, SW, SW. 
ee ee ec. |e | |, 48-2 | oS Gece ee ea. 8 
» 7 |30°365 48-9 43°7| -83|°300| 51:0 | 40-1/10°9) 9,10,10| SW, SW by W, SW. 
» 8 |80:093| 48-2 41-8! -80)'281] 49°7 | 45-1) 4°6/10,10, 7 SW, SW, WSW. 
» 9 |30°038) 47-9 47-0} -97|°337| 51°2 | 45°5| 5°7/10, 10, 10 SW, WNW, W. 
»5 LO | 30°225) 43-0 39:4] +88 °259) 46°7 | 34-0|12°7/ 0, 6, 8) SW, SW, SW by W. 
39 11 |30°125) 48-9 42°8) -81)°291| 51:2 | 38-5] 12°7/10, 10,10 WSW, W, W by 8. 
», 12 |30°128)51°3 46-7) -85)°333) 53°7 | 46°7| 7:0) 3, 2,10; W by N, W byS, W 
SUPE s. | ses | bees | as | 49° | 96-4) 12-0) ae ae 
»5 14 | 30°430| 43-2 40:0) +90 264) 50:0 | 37-9/12'1/10, 2, 1] SSW, W by S, W byS. 
»5 15 | 30322) 44-9 43:0) -93/'293) 46°7 | 33-3| 13°4/10, 10,10] SW, SW, SW by 8. 
tet: |29°824 43-8 37°2| -79 239] 49:2 |43-2| 60110, 8, 7| SW, WSW, W. 
», 17 | 30-042 43-4' 32°83) -68 ‘201 45°1 |37°5| 7°6/10,10, 4) NW by N, NW by N, N. 
», 18 | 30:484 36-9 29:9 “78\"185| 40°9'|31-7| 9°2| 5, 0, 7 NNW, NW, W. 
», 19 | 30466 446 40:2} +86 °266! 48-2 | 33:4! 148/10, 10, 10 SW, NW, W. 
BY nd | een Neen | ns] ane of, ADSC| B12) LLB leas ah pe 
9, 21 | 30°104 44-0 39°5| *85' +260) 49°1 | 36°6 12°5| 9,10,10| —, WSW, WbyS. 
9) 22 | 30:045| 35-7 22'0| °61/-140! 40°5 | 39:8! 07/10, 0, 0| NNE, NNW, NW. 
5, 23 |30:016 44-0 38'4| *82 250) 48°6 | 26-4|22'2/10, 2, 1| SW, W byS, W byS.. 
», 24 | 80228) 448) 40°38} °86'°267) 48°1 | 38:5) 9°6/10, 6,10 WSW, W, W. 
A RIE PREG TP (UR P te 7 
35 26 | 29:964 49:4) 47°3| *93/°340) 51:4 | 40°9| 10'5/10, 10, 10) SW by W, SW by 8, SW. 
i a eee Pe err a eee i A 
» 28 | 30°277 35:2 32:4) 90/202)... |28:4) ... 10,10, 10) E by N, SE by E, ESE. 
3 29 | 29°907| 49°5| 42°8| *79)"291| 520 | ... | ... |10, 10, 10 SW, W, W by 8S. 
»» 30 san 41°7|36'9| *85\'237) 44°5 |39°5) 5:0) 3, 1, 0|\Wby 8S, W by N, NWbyW. 


5) On 29°79) 370) 84°7| °92)°219) 89°9 | 26-4) 13°5)10, 10, 10 E, ESE, E by 8. 


— ——_ | — ——— 


| 


bd ‘260 


| | 


Monthly 
Means, } 


80°061 si 39°0 


| ew 


* To obtain the Barometric pressure at the sea-level these numbers must be increased by ‘037 inch, 


“Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


HOURLY MOVEMENT OF THE WIND (IN MILES) AS RECORDED BY ROBINSON’S ANEMOMETER.—Decemner, 1863. 


3/4/5)/6]7|8 | 9|10/11)12 


479)748'316|449 


| 
| 


222.369 


269)24.4/386|/388 


13 | 14 15 16 | 17} 18] 19 | 20 | 21) 22] 23) 24] 25 | 26| 27 28] 29 30/31 


NSQOONTOONNNNOOOOWwWE AD OF OOH 


134 


| WWWWWAWEDUDMADAGAONWNWENE KOE Ob 


107 


13] 15 
13} 15 
16) 19 


COTO NOV or or or or & OF Or OTS BO GO ND EH bo 0 
in) 
paar 
bo 
wo 


180)/393/446 


12) 6 
12) 6 
12) 4 
11) 4 
11) 5 
9} 4 
11) 6 
12) 4 
10) 6 
9) 5 
10} 5 
10) 6 
9} 11 
“ali 
4) 7 
2) 6 
3) 5 
5} 4 
4) 5 
8} 3 
6) 2 
3) 3 
4) 5 
5} J 
189}124. 


aS Oe OO OO Ee ee 


| oonronsr OO 


155 


He 


BHOODONEFOAWEWWHHENEOANOUCOCSO 


be ee 


oo 
ee 


‘177 


DD 


ABRADOATOA 
_ 
er) 


77)394.328 


i 


10} 7] 15) 18; 3} 7 8 
10} 5} 14; 20) 1) 11) 9 
11) 5} 12) 18} 2) 10 9 
6} 8] 13) 17} 2) 10) 12 
7; 9} 18} 17) 1) 14 §$ 
6} 7} 16) 15] 0) 18) 11 
6; 9} 20) 13) 1) 11) 9 
9} 10; 18) 16; 1} 11) 9 
7| 8} 20) 12) 0} 15) 4 
4| 9) 18) 12) 2) 17) 8 
5} 9] 19) 16) 4) 21) 8 
7| 10) 18} 14} 2) 23) 6 
10) 13) 16) 14) 5) 19) 8 
8} 11) 15) 12) 5) 23) 8 
6} 9) 14) 11) 7 27| 10 
6) 11) 15) 11) 4) 22) 7 
7| 9} 14) 8 3) 16) 5 
4| 13} 13) 5) 4) 20) 3 
7| 11) 16) 4) 4) 18) 8 
Be12 TF Ble eae, 
4) 12) 16; 4| 8) 13) 2 
6} 14) 19) 4) 11) 13) 2 
5| 18) 13) 2) 14) 11) 1 
5| 14) 14' 1) 10) 8) 4 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


165|238/383 269|101|370)157 


[Hourly 
Means. 


401) 12°5 


Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


46 


RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT THE KEW OBSERVATORY, 


LATITUDE 51° 28’ 6” N., LONGITUDE O° 18’ 47” w. 
MONTHLY AND ANNUAL MEANS FOR THE YEAR 1863. 


ae AU Te oe ae ae Ses Ee ERE IE aes Gee ts scl 


Barometer, |Tempe- Relative|Tension : Barometer, |Tempe- Relative} Tension 
Month, corrected to | rature ee aa Humi- of Roan De ae Month. corrected to rature oe it Humi- of 
temp. 32.* | of Air, * | dity. |Vapour. : s temp. 32.* | of Air, | +°2*- dity. |/Vapour. 


Daily | Total fall 
Range. | of Rain, 


inches, ° inch, ° inches, inches. 2 2 inch. ° inches. 
January ...,..) 29°765 | 42:5 | 37-4 | -84 | -244 | 9-5 2°488 August ...) 29868 | 612] 51:8 | -74 | -402 | 169 1755 
February ...| 380°306 43'1 | 37-4 83 | °244 | 12:6 | 0514 September.} 29:818 53°2 | 45°5 77 | 323 | 15:9 2818 
March,,.......} 29°879 45°3 | 86:2 ‘74 | +235 | 15°3 | 0683 October ,..| 29'758 51°5 | 48:0 “89 | -853 | 11°4 2-038 
April ..,......| 29°934 48°3 | 88°9 ‘74 | +259 | 17:1 | 0301 November.| 30:032 466 | 43:0 “89 | :299 | 11°3 1919 
May,...........| 30002 516 | 41°8 "72 | 287 | 17:1 | 1:393 December..| 30:061 44-4, | 39:0 *83 | -260 | 105 1121 
June .........| 29°863 566 | 47°8 ‘75 | ‘850 | 166 | 4:167 —|——— ———__|— ——_— | 
July....s....0..| .80:077 62:1 | 48:9 65 | °364 | 21-1 | 0-757 Mean ,..,..} 29°947 50°5 | 43-0 ‘78 | -302 | 145 | 19:954 


* To obtain the Barometric pressure at the sea-level these numbers must be increased by ‘037 inch, 


aa >= 


TABLE SHOWING THE MEAN VELOCITY OF THE WIND FOR EACH HOUR OF THE DAY IN THE DIFFERENT 
MONTHS OF THE YEAR 1863 (IN MILES PER HOUR). 


A. M. P. M, 
Hour, 12 to 


1 to 2 to3 to 4. to 5 to 6 to 7 to8 to 9 to 10 to llto12 tol to2 to8 to4 to5 to6 to7 to8 to 9 tol0 toll tol2 #Mean. 
Jan. ,..,..{17°1 |16°7 17;2 {18:0 |17°4 17 0[17°4|17 7 |17°3117-0 17-6 |17-1 | 18°5|18°2|17°5/ 15-7] 16-0] 14-7 115-0 15°1|15-3|15°3 |16°7 |15 6 168 


Feb.......| 8:8] 87} 8:0] 7:7] 82] 8-5! 8-7 8°7| 85 |10-0| 11-6 |12-2 | 13°2/13-7 |13-0] 11-9] 11-2 9°7| 9810-1) 9-6} 9-2) 9-9] 8-9 10:0 
March ...! '7'8| 8:1] 81] 81] 86| 7:3| 87] 9:4 101 | 11°4:) 13-1 |14-1 | 14-4} 15-0] 14°4| 14-5 |13-1]166| 9-4 9'1| 8:0) 87) 8-5) 7-5 10°6 
April. ....} 8:2) 76] 69] 7-1] 68] 7-4] 8-3 {10:8 | 12-2 13°4) 13°6 |15-0 | 15°7 | 15:9} 15°7 | 15-2] 14-7] 13-7 11-1 (10°1| 9°0| 8:4) 7-6) 7-5 10:9 
May...... 81) 75) 76) 76! 7-8| 7-4] 9-3|19-2|12-6]19°5 13°8 |15:0 | 15°5|16°1 | 15°4) 15°3/15°3| 13-7 |12-410-8| 9:5 97/102) 8-4 11-4 
June... 8:3) 72) 71] 65| 7-1) 7-6] 8-4) 9:3/10:5|10°8111-5 12°6 | 13°5 | 14°0 | 13°3/ 12°6| 13'4/12°0|11-3| 9-9] 8-4) 8-3 88) 81 99 
July......| 4°8) 4:1] 42] 4°83) 44] 5-1] 63! 7-6 8'9| 9'8/10°5|10'5 | 10°3)10'1}10'1] 99/105) 9:3) 98 75| 69] 65) 62) 50 75 
August...) 7°3| 7-4] 7°3] 68] 76] 7-6| 95|11-°6 12°7 | 13°7| 14-9 | 15-7 | 16:0} 16-1} 15°5| 15:2/143/ 13-3 131/101) 86) 82| 89) 7:4 115 
Sept......) 73} 72] 71] 67] 6-8] 6.7] 68! 89110-6 12°3 | 13°3|18°5 | 14°5 | 14-0 | 13°5| 13-1|11-7/10.3! 9-2) 9-3) 9-0} 8-1) 83) 77 9'8 
Oct. ......] 88] 86} 92} 9:1} 9:1] 9:2/10-:0/11-4 11°6 | 12°7 | 14-0} 13'9 | 13-6 | 18-2) 13°3}12:1|11:2| 9:5! 8-6 9-9 | 91) 92) 95! 84 10-7 
Noy.......]| 9°8/10:0/10:3] 9:0] 9:4] 9:2! 9:0] 9:3 8'8|10°1| 12°8 |12°1 | 13°8/13-:0/11-9/11-6/11-2| 10-2! 9:9 10-7 106 


OS es {eee ce | ees |g | geen | ee ee 


Mean.....| 9:0] 86] 8:6] 8:5| 8:8 87 9:5 107 |11-2 12'1| 13-4 13-9 145 |14°5 14:0| 18-4] 13°0| 11-6 109/104, 96/94/97) 88 || 11-0 


ae 88 10:3 
Dee. ...,..]11'3 |10°7 |10°8 |11°6 [12-0 |11-4./11-2 11°7 | 10'9| 11'8| 13°8 | 14°4 | 15-4] 15-0 | 14°8/13°9 | 13-2] 12°5 |19- 125 14 111 /11-9/11'8 125 


We Never See the Stars. AT 


WE NEVER SEE THE STARS. 


TaKeE a man out into the fields on a calm, quiet night, when the 
moon is absent, the air clear, and as he looks upward, the “ floor 
of heaven” seems ‘inlaid with patines of bright gold.” Let 
him see Vega beaming, with steady lustre, like a benevolent 
sapphire eye keeping watch over the world; Capella fitfully 
flashing ; the Bear careering round the silent pole; Orion with 
his diamond belt; and Sirius blazing in such splendour as to 
vindicate his title as “‘ the leader of the host of heaven,’ and 
leave no wonder that the old Egyptians worshipped him as a 
sacred orb, and formed the sloping sides of their pyramids 
that his beams should fall straight and full upon them when he 
reached his highest pomt in the skies that over-arched their 
wondrous land. let our observer gaze steadily as the 
smaller stars come out from their homes in the deep unfathom- 
able blue, until, between what the eye sees, and what the mind 
imagines, the broad fields of space are all alive with light, and, 
from every point of the compass, stars innumerable seem to 
gleam. When the eye has thus been filled with brightness, we 
could scarcely make a more startling assertion than is conveyed 
in the words, ‘‘ we never see the stars,” and yet no statement 
can be more true. What then, do we see? The answer is, we 
see certain rays of light which, in popular phraseology, left the 
celestial orbs some time ago: years ago we know in some in- 
stances, centuries perhaps in others, and thousands of years, it 
may be, in still other cases, and possibly millions might be 
required to state the time at which, in the remote past, that 
force was exercised, or vibration excited, by which we recognize 
the existence of the most distant of those suns whose beams 
are able to affect our sight. The nearest star is, however, too 
far off for his light-rays to bring to us a picture of his face. In 
the moon we see, with the unaided eye, certain indications of 
the form and character of the surface of our satellite. In the 
planets, minute discs, in which all features have vanished, pro- 
claim by the low power that makes them distinctly visible, com- 
parative nearness to ourselves ; but of the stars another story 
must be told. They are not like the moon, partly decipherable 
by the unassisted eye; not like the planets, surrendering more 
or less of the secret of their form to the glasses of the telescope— 
they defy alike the eye of the mortal, and the grandest optical 
machinery which he has been able to invent. ‘They do indeed, 
in fine weather, look like small regular discs in a telescope, but 
increasing the power of the eye-piece does not enlarge their 
apparent diameters as it does that of nearer objects, and in the 
most perfect instruments they look the least. We see their 


48 We Never See the Stars. 


lustre, we note the colour of their light; Betelguese is a topaz, 
Rigel more of a sapphire, Antares is flushed, and flashes with blood 
red; and when the telescope has separated the so-called “‘ double 
stars,’’ we have contrasts of green, orange, blue, white, grey, 
etc., as Mr. Webb’s admirable papers tell; but whether their 
surfaces are rugged and mountainous, smooth, with. plains or 
seas, diversified in outline, or monotonous in uniformity, we can 
only guess; for, in spite of all our efforts, we never see the stars. 

Ordinary objects reveal to us their forms by the effects of 
light, shade, and colour. They shine with borrowed, and often 
with feebly reflected ight, so that by walking away, we soon lose 
sight of them altogether. Objects that are more luminous and 
brighter, show their forms at greater distances, and we often 
see things negatively that would be unnoticed by their positive 
effect. Thusa thin rod against a clear sky is seen a long way off, 
because we are conscious that the sky brightness is, as it were, 
cut through by some dark thread. But we may pass from all 
those cases in which light comes to us as a revealer of form, to 
others, in which it says, “‘ I am hght,” and nothing more. 

All “Intellectual Observers” know Longfellow’s exquisite 
poem beginning— 

“The day is done, and the darkness 
Falls from the wings of light, 
As a feather is wafted downward 
From an eagle in its flight ;” 
and as they repeat the last two lnes— 
. “We see the lights of the village 
Gleam through the rain and the mist,” 
they will recall an experience common to all travellers, the 
memory of which may bring with it either “a feeling of sadness 
which the soul cannot resist,” or pleasing associations to which 
the affections cling. These “lights of the village” may help to 
teach us why “‘ we never see the stars.” They come to us like 
good angels across the moor, or fen, but their faces are hidden 
from our distant gaze. We do not see the lamp or candle from 
which they emanate until we are close to it, although we may 
know what it is, and exclaim with Portia: 
“ How far that little candle throws its beams! 
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.” 

Unless we are tolerably near we do not even see the shape 
of the flame, and as soon as we have lost that shape, it is, on a 
small scale, an imitation of the distant stars. 

The distance at which objects become invisible, although 
their light is still seen, varies with different eyes. Without light 
no man sees; but some men see with less light and much fur- — 
ther than others, and long after the longest sighted man has lost 
all perception of bodily shape, the hawk tribe appear to see it 


We Never. See the Stars. 49 


acutely, so that Tennyson was a true exponent of nature when 
_ he depicted the eagle in his home— 


“He clasps the crag with hooked hands : 
Close. to the sun in lonely lands, 
Ring’d with the azure world he stands. 


he wrinkled sea beneath him crawls ; 
He watches from his mountain walls, 
And lke a thunderbolt he falls.’’ 


When the sea waves are dwindled down to wrinkles by their 
distance, the king of birds still perceives upon their shore, 
objects that would be quite invisible to man; but there is no 
reason to believe that even the eye of the eagle has ever 
“seen the stars.” The bird, however, may teach us that with 
perfect visual organs, remoteness would not prevent the dis- 
covery of form, but merely reduce its apparent size. 

A distant body must have a certain magnitude, in order 
that its shape may be visible to any eye, with any particular 
instrument. The larger the body, the greater the distance at 
which its shape can be seen, under similar and proportionate 
illumination, but as the distance increases, the apparent size of 
any body is rapidly reduced, in conformity with a well-known. 
physical law, so that the mightiest celestial orbs may dwindle 
through remoteness to the merest specks of light which the 
eye can discern, and by still further remoteness, completely 
elude the power of the largest telescope.* 

We know that the sun’s diameter 1s, according to the best 
calculations, 850,100 miles, and his distance, by recent deter- 
mination, abcut 91,328,600 miles, nearly four hundred times that 
of the moon. Now the enormous face of the sun, more than one 
hundred times broader than that of our earth, is eclipsed by a 
pin’s head held near the eye, and it only appears the size of a 
very small disc held a foot off. Could we pass from our present 
abode to the more distant planets of the solar system, the 
great luminary would become smaller and smaller in appear- 
ance; and from Neptune, “30? times the mean distance of the 
earth from the sun,”+} it would look like a mere point of light 
that would require considerable magnifying to raise into a disc. 
Mr. Breen tells us that with a power of 150 we can see 
the appearance of a disc in Neptune “‘if we consider it atten- 
tively,” and the body which thus requires enlarging to the 
extent of 150 diameters, or 22,500 times superficially, in 


* An easy mode of illustrating these facts, is to cut a disc, one inch in diameter, 
and a triangle (with each side equal to the diameter of the circle), of white paper ; 
stick them against a wall, and walk backwards until the eye fails to see which is 
the circle and which is the triangle, although two patches of white light will still 
be discerned. 

+ Breen’sPlanetary Worlds, page 248. 
VOL. V.—NO. I. ry 


50 We Never See the Stars. 


order to be seen at all, is 108 times as big as our earth ;* its 
diameter is 35,000 miles, that of the earth being 7912 miles. 

Under ordinary circumstances we do not, without magnify- 
ing them, see the real dises of the great planets, otherwise we 
should need no telescope to teach us that Venus goes through 
phases like the moon.t When Venus is favourably situated 
she is a highly lustrous body, that looks the same shape as 
Jupiter, but if the telescope be directed to both, one shows a 
round face, and the other may appear as a thin crescent of 
most glorious light. Although the planets are too far off to 
exhibit real discs to the naked eye, still the being so near im 
proportion to their size is one reason why they shine with a 
steadier light, and do not twinkle like the stars. Humboldt 
and others thought that when light, from one portion of their 
discs, was for a moment intercepted and then permitted to 
pass through the air, they did not flicker like stars, because 
hght from other portions of their discs filled up the vacancy 
that was occasioned, and kept their lustre steadily in view. 
This cannot be the entire reason of stellar scintillation, as some 
stars do it much more than others; but whatever action such 
discs may have, it must lessen, and finally vanish as their 
distance is increased; and we must not forget that Neptune, 
the remotest known member of our system, although 
2,864,000,000 miles from the sun, is near him, and near us, 
when compared with the nearest of the stars. 

Spectrum analysis bids fair to teach us what the stars are 
made of, and we may learn more and more of their wondrous 
ways. Still we may never behold their faces, nor our descendants 
after us, to the end of time. We place, however, no limits to 
the future possibilities of science, but the present generation 
of men, and their long posterity after them, may be compelled to 
wait for immortal vision before they will really see the stars. 


* The dimensions and distance of Neptune, and other planets, will have to be . 
revised, to meet the present views of the size and distance of the sun, but this will 
make no difference in the argument. 


+ This remark is generally true. Had it been otherwise it would not have 
been necessary to wait for Galileo with his telescope, in order to learn the fact that 
Venus exhibits phases like the moon. Mr. Webb, in his excellent work, Celestial 
Objects for Common Telescopes, says, speaking of Venus when near the 
earth and exhibiting a sharp and thin form :—‘This crescent has been seen even 
with the naked eye in the sky of Chili, and with a dark glass in Persia.” Diffi- 
cult objects become more yisible when the mind knows exactly what the eye ought 
to see, and the eye is practised in looking for it. An easy experiment will 
illustrate this. Let any one not accustomed to it, look for e Lyre, which to the 
naked eye lies close to Vega. The first night of the attempt the small star may 
not be distinguished, afterwards it will become plainer, and if it is looked at fifty 
or one hundred times in the course of a month or two, it will seem to have moved 
further off, and the observer will wonder why the separation did not strike him at 
first. A similar apparent increase of distance takes place by continued observa- 
tion of close double stars through a telescope. 


Green Tce. ‘ 5] 


GREEN ICE. 


BY HENRY J. SLACK, F.G.S., 
Member of the Microscopical Society of London. 


Ir is sometimes worth while to remark upon a subject that may 
appear common-place, and I am induced to say a few words 
upon the often-noticed phenomenon of ice being coloured 
green by its enclosing confervoid vegetation, simply upon the 
ground that as it has lately interested me, it may interest other 
constant readers of the InrunnnctuaL Osserver. During the 
severe frost of January, I was walking, on a clear sunny day, 
im company with a friend, when our attention was drawn to 
the brilliant green tint of sundry masses of ice scattered over 
the frozen surface and about the margin of a pond, on the 
Lower Heath, Hampstead, near the queer looking edifice dedi- 
cated to the water gods of the place. A man was amusing 
himself with a pickaxe breaking up the ice near one end of the 
pond, and scattering the fragments about him. Some he sent 
whizzing along the frozen water, and its surface was soon 
variegated by masses that gleamed with a beautiful beryl tint. 
Taking up some of these pieces I was struck with the small 
quantity of green matter that sufficed to tinge a considerable 
block, and as the cold was intense, I put a fragment in the 
pocket of a large great coat, just wrapped in a piece of paper, 
and thus carried it home nearly dry. Placed in a white por- 
celain vessel in my study it soon thawed, and at the bottom of 
the water was a little green stuff, which microscopic examination 
showed to consist of a minute oscillatoria, and some other 
conferva of which I don’t know the name. These little plants 
seemed quite alive, as a high power detected no sign of decay 
in their bluish green chlorophyll; but their hfe processes must 
have been comparatively quiescent, as they remained for some 
days at the bottom of the vessel. Had they been active I pre- 
sume they would have evolved enough air-bubbles to have 
caused them to float. A few days afterwards I went for a fresh 
supply, and found every piece of ice I examined very irregular 
in structure, and full of cavities I took for air-bubbles. <A. 
pocket lens showed the parallel planes of freezing very prettily, 
but did not detect any cavities round the conferva, which 
was disposed in minute tufts—not at all close together. I did 
not in any case see any conferva in an air-bubble, or any dis- 
tinct air bubble attached toa conferva. Some masses of ice of 
an intense beryl green were broken with a hammer, and it 
was curious to remark how very small a quantity of the vege- 
table matter, distributed as I have described, tinged the whole 


59 Green Ice. 


mass. The colour rapidly diminished as the lumps were 
reduced in size, and fragments an inch or two square only 
showed the tint where the little patches of converva actually 
occurred. In some instances the vegetation was somewhat 
more plentiful, and then the ice had to be reduced to still 
smaller pieces before the green hue disappeared. 

I brought home several fragments of the-ice in a bottle, 
but as the weather was not so cold as on the former occasion, 
about one third melted as I came along, and probably the con- 
dition of the solid masses was changed. Small pieces were 
placed on a strip of glass on the stage of the microscope, and 
examined with a three-inch object-glass, the hght being thrown 
up strongly by means of the concave mirror. Under these 
circumstances the ice appeared anything but homogeneous. 
There were lots of bubbles, and a great confusion of optical 
surfaces, bounding portions of different density, and portions 
to which the crystalline structure gave a difference of refractive 
power. ‘The conferva seemed closely surrounded by unfrozen 
water, and here and there a little air-bubble appeared, touching 
the delicate green threads. Was the conferva left in a little 
water-drop when the gelation took place, or, when. thawing 
began, did it take place first round the delicate plants ? 

In his Heat Considered as a Mode of Motion, p. 318, Pro- 
fessor Tyndal gives a very interesting account of little water 
chambers, with air-bubbles in them, which he found in Norway 
ice, and he proved that they had been occasioned by melting 
minute portions of the block. “If,” said he, “the liquid is 
the product of melted ice, its volume must be less than that 
of the ice that produced it, and the associated air-bubble must 
consist of rarified air.’ To test this, he melted some of the ice 
in warm water, and found the air-bubbles shrink in volume at 
the moment the surrounding ice was melted. In another expe- 
riment he placed a portion of ice in a freezing mixture, and 
froze the water-blebs. The ice thus treated ‘‘ was immediately 
placed in a dark room, where. no radiant heat could possibly 
affect it, and examined every quarter of an hour. The dim 
frozen spots gradually broke up into little water parcels, 
and in two hours the water-blebs were perfectly restored in 
the centre of the slab of ice..... Hence no doubt can 
remain as to the possibility of effecting liquefaction in the 
interior of a mass of ice by heat which has passed by conduction 
through the substance without melting it.” Thus the existence 
of water-blebs in ice does not prove that they consist of water 
left unfrozen when gelation took place; and I am disposed to 
think that the conferya threads were, as they looked under a 
hand-magnifier of low power, closely surrounded by frozen 
water, but not frozen themselves, because their cell contents 


Green Ice. oe 


may demand, in order to be frozen, a somewhat lower tempe- 
rature than that in which the water solidifies. When the mass 
of ice became warmer, and its outside was actively thawing, I 
imagine the conducted heat was arrested by the conferva, 
and thus the water-blebs round it gradually formed. If this 
were the case, the minutes air-bubble which I saw in some in- 
stances attached to the conferva, should have collapsed as the 
ice surrounding it thawed. I had not the means of ascer- 
taining this, but the escape of the larger air-bubbles was a 
pretty sight when a lump of the ice was placed in.a tumbler of 
warm water, and the melting process watched under a lens. 

I believe Ehrenberg ascribed the escape of animalcules from 
being frozen to death when the water in which they lived con- ~ 
gealed, to the action of their vital heat; but it seems to me 
more probable that they escaped because their vital fluids dif- 
fered sufficiently from water to freeze at a lower temperature. 
Professor Tyndal, in the work cited, observes that there “‘ seems 
no such thing as perfect homogeneity in nature. Change com- 
mences at distinct centres, instead of bemg uniformly and con- 
tinuously distributed... ... The melting temperature of ice 
is set down at 32°F ., but the absence of perfect homogeneity, 
whether from difference of crystalline texture, or some other 
cause, makes the melting temperature oscillate to a slight 
extent on both sides of the ordinary standara.” It may be that 
shght variations from that uniformity of condition which is 
described by the term “ homogeneous,” causes some particles 
of water to freeze quicker than others; and if so, we may 
imagine how slight a divergence in the molecular condition or 
composition of a fluid, from the condition and composition of 
water, may enable the liquid contents of a plant or animal to 
retain their fluidity when the water in which they are immersed 
takes the solid form. 

The question of why so little green stuff deposited in patches 
considerably distant. from each other, gave so deep a tint to 
the ice of my experiments, may perhaps be answered by reference 
to its heterogeneous structure. There must not only have been 
refractions but also reflexions in all sorts of directions, from 
crystalline surfaces in various planes. ‘Thus I conceive the 
effect of a very little green stuff was made to go a great way. 
The explanation may not be correct, but I can think of no 
better, and perhaps the remarks I have thrown together may 
suggest observations and experiments to others, who may 
witness appearances of the same or a similar kind. 


54 ) Clusters and Nebule. 


CLUSTERS AND NEBULA.— DOUBLE STAR.— 
GREAT NEBULA IN ORION. —COMPARISON OF 
SUN AND STARS.—OCCULTATION. 


BY THE REV. T. W. WEBB, M.A., F.R.A.S. 


8. The Great Cluster near Propus, alias 35 M. Prédpus is the 
name given by the ancients to a small star, preceding the foot 
of the Twin, Castor, as its meaning implies, whose present 
appearance is so far from warranting any special designation 
that one might suppose it had declined in brightness. It may 
be found thus:—A lne from ¢ Tauri to Polluw will be nearly 
bisected by a considerable 3 mag. star, e Geninorwm. Between 
€ and e will be seen three others, which form a line pointing 
np. The uppermost and smallest, 5 mag., is Propus, alias 1 
Geminorum in Flamsteed’s nomenclature, being the first star of 
that constellation as to right ascension comprised in his cata- 
logue. A little nf from this star the naked eye perceives a 
faint white cloud, a nebula proper, unnoticed however by the 
ancients, though they called the head of Orion ‘ stella nebu- 
losa,”’ and discovered by Messier in 1764.° The finder shows us 
a starry nebula, which in the telescope is expanded into what 
Smyth calls a gorgeous field of stars, from 9 to 16 mags., less 
rich in the centre, witha tendency to curved arrangement. It 
is thus described by Lassell, as viewed with his 24-inch specu- 
lum, in the Maltese sky, 1852:—“ A marvellously striking 
object. No one can see it for the first time without an excla- 
mation. Power 160; the field of view 19’ in diameter, and 
angular subtense ” (or apparent extent), “534°, is perfectly full 
of brilliant stars, unusually equal in magnitude and distribution 
over the whole area. Nothing but a sight of the object itself 
can convey an adequate idea of its exquisite beauty. ‘The bril- 
liancy and concentration of the stellar pomts and the blackness 
of the ground cannot otherwise be shown in their just con- 
trast.” The possessors of smaller apertures must of course not 
expect to witmess such a spectacle; yet it is a noble object in 
any telescope. ‘To do justice to its wide extent we must em- 
ploy a very low power; but a higher one will best bring out 
its finest feature, a slightly curved arc or festoon of stars, de- 
pending, when inverted, and in the eastern sky, from a larger 
one at each end, The chord of this arc, which lies nf and s p, 
continued for three or four times its length in the latter direc- 
tion, will point out a small faint nebula among the outliers of 
the great cluster, unnoticed in the Bedford Catalogue, but 
entered in that of Sir W. Herschel, where it is 17, VI. ; and in 
that of Sir J. Herschel, who numbers it 375, and calls it “ rich, 


Clusters and Nebulee. . 55 


middle compressed almost to nebulosity, stars very small, irre- 
gular triangular figure.’ Ifound it visible with a comet-power 
of 29, and resolved into stars with 164, having then somewhat 
of the aspect that its brilliant neighbour has in the finder.* 
There is something very striking in the juxtaposition of these 
two objects; the one viewed, at an imconceivably greater re- 
moteness, as it would seem, through the straggling components 
of the other, but both, perhaps, of similar constitution and 
arrangement. ‘The earlier ideas of Herschel I. as to the con- 
struction of the heavens would have led us to suppose that if 
we could travel with the velocity of light to the nearer of these 
clusters, we might still find the second no larger or brighter 
than the first now appears to us, while our own sun behind us, and 
all his attendant system, had faded imto one of those minute 
points, whose aggregation alone renders them perceptible to 
the unaided eye. But further discoveries have thrown doubt 
upon these speculations, which, however magnificent, were 
premature ; and we are now obliged to admit that with regard 
to absolute and relative distances in the starry heavens our data 
are few,—our fully reliable ones fewer still. 

The neighbourhood of these clusters is rich and beautiful, 
being a portion of the galaxy. Propus itself, a yellow star, is 
closely preceded by a pretty 9 or 10 mag. triplet, combined 
with still smaller points; some way further in the same direc- 
tion is an interesting group, and n of this latter a fine open 
pair, about 7 and 74 mag. 7 Geminorwm, an orange star, the 
next visible to the naked eye sf Propus, will guide us to avery 
remarkable coloured star, less than 1° n p. It is6 Tauri, 
marked 6 mag. in the S. D. U. K. maps, but very small for that 
class; its fiery red hue, like that of Antares upon a small 
scale, makes it an interesting object. 

If we now pass up the galaxy a considerable distance from 
this region, we shall find, in an extended portion of it before 
we reach the bright star Capella, three clusters worthy of a 
search, which, however, must be the more careful as they 
are not in distinctly marked positions. We must first draw a 
line from Aldebaran through 8 Tauri, and then bend it a little 
northwards, in the direction of Capella; this will point out @ 


* It should be noticed that these two objects, 35 M,and 17 Hi VI, though not 
their designations, have changed places in the larger maps of the 8. D. U. K., which 
are, generally speaking, very free from error. While correcting the mistakes of 
others, I would beg permission to do the same by my own. I have subsequently 
ascertained that the-aperture of the Greenwich object-glass, referred to in the 
No. for December, 1862, p. 374, is 11% instead of 12} inches; and in the descrip- 
tion of the great Nebula in Andromeda, published in our number for December 
last, p. 349, where it is stated that no confirmation of the stellar symptoms showed 
by the Earl of Rosse’s 3-feet speculum was known to have been obtained with the 
larger reflector, it should have been added, that in this instrument the nucleus has 
that granular appearance which indicates resolvability. 


56 Clusters and Nebule. 


Auriga, a solitary 4 mag. star, in a conspicuous position, just 
across the galaxy. Rather more than half way from 6B Tauri 
to 6 Aurige, and a little below the lne joing them, we must 
sweep about for— 

9. 37 M. (Awrige). A cluster which will appear as a 
nebula in the finder, and in a low power eye-piece will open 
out into a beautiful irregularly circular cloud of minute stars 
of various magnitudes, melting away on every side into the 
surrounding galaxy. Long gazmg seems to bring out more 
perfectly the exceeding beauty of this glorious work of the 
Creator. It also bears higher powers well, with which it oc- 
cupies the field. Smyth truly describes it as a magnificent object, 
the whole field being strewed with sparklng gold dust, and the 
group resolved into about 500 stars, from 10 to 14 mag., 
besides the outliers. He does not, however, mention a brighter 
star pointed out by Knott in a conspicuous position near the 
centre of the cluster. It is probably, as the latter says, an 
illustration of the fact, that what strikes one person does not 
strike another. 

As much above as we have been looking below the line 
joing 6 Tuwri and 9 Aurige, and not far from our last object, 
a little sweeping will bring a luminous cloud into the field of 
the finder, which is— 

10. 386* M. (Auriga). A large, bright, scattered cluster, 8° 
to 14 mags., contaming a double star, 368 H, 12”, 308-7, 8 
and 9, both white. 

If we place this object at the bottom of the field of the 
finder, we shall (if it is of an ordinary extent) perceive 
another less prominent nebulosity n p. This is 

11. 38M. (Aurige). Described by Smyth as a rich cluster, 
of an oblique cruciform shape, witha pair of large stars in each 
arm, and a conspicuous single one in the centre. It is best 
seen with a low power, and melts away into the surrounding 
galaxy. The neighbourhood is magnificent. A little s is a 
small cluster, 39 i VII, alias 354 H, who calls it pretty rich, 
counting in it 50 or 60 stars, 9 to 12 mag.: such was the 
working of his 18-inch speculum on this comparatively feeble 
and remote aggregation. 

Descending the galaxy for a considerable distance, and 
passing our acquaintance Propus, we shall find a much older 
acquaintance, 8 Monocerotis, No. 101 of our Double Star List 
(Inr. Oxs., 1863, April, p. 217).. About 2° E. of this, the 
naked eye will readily detect a nebulosity, which the finder will 
turn into a starry cloud. It is— 

12. 2 Hf VIL (Monocerotis). A brilliant group, containing — 
stars from 7 to 14 mag—the latter, Smyth tells us, running in 

* Wrongly numbered 56 in the maps of the 8. D. U. K. 


Clusters and Nebule. : 57 


rays. It is 392 H. who calls it a large, poor (that is in numbers), 
but briliant cluster. A very large field is required to do it 
justice, which will include towards its sf edge 12 Monocerotis, 
6 mag., a fine yellow star. 

If we go lower still towards the horizon, till we reach a line 
joming Procyon and Sirius, about one-third of the distance 
from the latter we shall detect by sweeping, a nebulous patch 
in the finder— 

13. 50 M. (Monocerotis). A. low power will here show us 
what Smyth justly calls a superb and very rich object, com- 
posed of stars from 8 to 16 mag., with spots of splendour 
indicating yet further masses. H. gives it a diameter of 10’ 
to 12’, and says the stragglers extend over a circle of 30’, as 
large as the moon. The mode in which it loses itself every 
way in the surrounding galaxy is very beautiful, as well as sug- 
gestive with regard to the constitution of that wonderful zone. 
The whole neighbourhood is superb, and will be swept over 
with a delighted gaze, mmute sparklngs breaking out 
throughout the whole extent of the field, and indicating the 
starry nature of the nebulous ground which fills it. A very 
moderate aperture, even under four inches, will suffice to indi- 
cate this resolvability, which will increase with every increase 
of light, till in the field of the great reflectors of Herschel, 
Schroter, and Lassell, the multitude of faintly-glittering points 
would prove that the whole of this vast stratum encompassing 
us on every side, is composed of stars: and every one of these 
literally millions of minute stars is a witness of the omni- 
presence and omnipotence of its Creator. 

We will now turn to 

14, Preesepe in Cancer (44 M). This celebrated cluster, 
which was well-known to the ancients, has been already referred 
to under No. 5 of our Double Stars (Inv. Oss., I. 277), and 
may probably not be a stranger to us; however, it could not 
with propriety be omitted from the present list. It offers a 
perfect example of the process of nebular resolution, being 
barely resolvable without the telescope,* showing its compo- 
nents in the finder, and bemg widely opened out with high 
powers, while the reverse of this operation enables us readily to 
comprehend how clusters, fully separated to the naked eye, 
would become gradually compressed, and at length nebulous, 
if progressively removed to greater depths in space. The 
whole of Praesepe is too extensive to be included in an ordi- 
nary field; itis sub-divided into several groups, among which, 


* Avago says, ‘‘It is impossible for mere unaided vision in any instance to 
separate” the stars. Their existence may, however, be recognized with little 
difficulty, giving a sparkling character to the mass. I have found the cluster 
much brighter by oblique vision. 


an The Great Nebula in Orion. 


pairs, triplets, and more complicated arrangements will be 
found. ‘l'wo beautiful little triangles will be sure to attract 
notice. 

DOUBLE STAR. 

We shall meet with a beautiful object well worthy of bemg 
added to our former list by looking first for a considerable 3 
mae. star, y Geminorwm, which lies between Pollux and Betel- 
geux, but nearer to the latter. A little s f from this star we 
shall notice two of the 4 and 5 mag., very near together, €' and 
&, ands again from these, a little p, another: this is the star 
of which we are in quest. 

120. 15 Monocerotis. 2°°5. 206"2. 6 and 94, greenish and 
pale grey. ‘This fine and easy object is converted into a triple 
group by the addition of a minute comes, which Smyth calls 
blue, at 15” and 15°. He assigns to it only 15 mag., but L 
have found.it more visible than I should have expected, being 
steadily seen with 53 inches and a high power. Another still 
more minute attendant, unnoticed by Smyth, lies at a greater 
distance in the n p quadrant. Justs of the principal star, 
three other small pairs form an irregular transverse line across 
the field, and further in the same direction we shall find a fine 
group, requiring a low power. Many parts ofthis galaxy 
region are very glorious. 

THE GREAT NEBULA IN ORION. 

So lengthened a description of this nebula was given upon 
a former occasion, that some explanation seems requisite to 
account for its re-introduction at the present time. It is simply 
the result of a closer acquaintance with this great marvel of 
the heavens. A more careful telescopic examination of it than 
I had ever previously attempted, combined with a more ex- 
tended comparison of the principal drawings of our great 
observers, has led me to think it an object worthy of much 
more, even at the hands of amateurs, than a passing gaze of 
wonder, and capable of repaying their diligent study and 


careful delineation. The discrepancies with regard more. 


especially to the internal distribution of the luminous haze, as 
represented by our best observers, and by means of the finest 
instruments, are so obvious, that I feel less disposed than I 
should otherwise have done, to reject my own results, or think 
lightly of those of others, my fellow students, on the mere 
ground of their differing in some respects from all that has 
preceded them. Where the highest authorities differ, there is 
room for every man’s independent work ; and in such a case 
the aspiring sentiment of Tycho Brahe may be applied without 
diminution of the veneration with which we ought always to 


regard our masters in science :— 


“ Anne ita decet nos seryiliter addictos aliorum prolatis, ut nihil in his ipsimet 
experiamur ?” 


The Great Nebula in Orion. ; 59 


A few favourable nights have shown me details which I 
know not how to reconcile with any designs which I have had 
an opportunity of examining, and there is reason to suppose 
that a similar examination in other hands would lead to 
analogous, though, very possibly, not identical conclusions. 
The feebler portions of the nebulosity are of course out of the 
reach of any but the most light-grasping instruments; but 

6 11 


b) 
65 73 104112 135 
5 10 18 27 «34 «438740 45 53 67 93101 110 123 «6133 )~—- 136 


6 12 32 35 48 70 87 108 120 
25 31 49 113 


[The figures placed above and beneath the diagram are the numbers by which 
the stars are designated, in the order of their Right Ascension, by Sir John Hers- 
chel, in his Observations at the Cape of Good Hope, and which have since been 
generally adopted. They are not introduced in the diagram for the sake of clear- 
ness, but they may easily be referred to their places by running a vertical line 
from each star to its corresponding number, above or below. The diagram is to 
be considered as bisected from right to left, just beneath the trapezium, the 
numbers at the top referring to the stars lying above the group, and vice versa. ] 


6G" Comparison of Sun and Stars. 


experience has led me to believe that a much smaller aperture 
than that of ten inches specified by O. Struve, as quoted in my 
former paper, 1s competent to deal with a fair proportion of 
its most remarkable features, and that many of our readers 
might find it highly interesting to make it matter of careful 
examination, and to record what they see for future comparison. 
To prepare for this by a wholly independent process of mapping 
out the included and attendant stars, would be not only very 
laborious, but a great waste of time, when asimple diagram will 
supply everything of the kind. Such a design is here given, 
inverted of course to suit the astronomical eye-piece; and a 
copy of it, especially if upon an enlarged scale, will serve at 
once as the groundwork of a delineation of the nebula. 

The stars are by no means all that are visible with a 53-inch 
object-glass, but they are such as seemed at once the most 
obvious and the most favourably situated; some pains have 
been taken with their relative magnitudes, but accuracy will 
not be expected ; and the lines indicating the position of the 
nebulosity are inserted merely for more convenient identifica- 
tion, and should be omitted in preparing the copy for use. It 
may require a little perseverance, and the employment of 
various magnifiers (even high ones not being excluded), to 
make out the boundaries and details of the hazy mass, but habit 
will soon render its aspect familiar, and more intelligible than 
might have been at first expected. Attention may be particu- 
larly directed to the arrangement of the “ flocculi,” or cloudy 
wisps, in the bright region lying S. of the trapezium, as here 
they are most distinct, and appear to me to exhibit the least 
agreement with the published designs of our great observers ; 
and should the attempt at delineation at first seem difficult or 
uninteresting, we may call to mind that within a short time, on 
this spot rather than anywhere else in the heavens, is one of 
the most remarkable of all astronomical enigmas likely to 
receive its solution—what is the true character of many of the 


nebulae? Are they merely remote collections of stars? or are. 


they luminous mists, of a nature wholly unknown, and subject 
to internal movements whose causes are now, and probably 
will ever remain, as Seneca says, “hidden in the majesty of 
nature” ? 

COMPARISON OF SUN AND STARS. 

The celebrated American optician, Alvan Clark—whose 
gigantic 18-inch object-glass, after receiving the Lalande 
prize of the Académie des Sciences, has recently been pur- 
chased by the Astronomical Association of Chicago for 11,187 
dollars—has published an interesting account of his photometric 
experiments on the comparative brightness of the sun and the 
fixed stars.* Starting with the acknowledged optical fact, that 

* The Sun and Stars Photometrically Compared. By Alvan Clark. 1863. 


EE — 


Comparison of Sun and Stars. . 61 


the focal image produced by a convex lens corresponds in appa- 
rent magnitude and brightness with the original object when 
viewed from a distance equal to the focal length of the lens, and 
diminishes in proportion as the distance of the eye increases, he 
proceeds to apply it experimentally in the following manner :— 
Having an underground dark chamber, 230 feet in length, 
communicating at one extremity with the open air by a verti- 
cal opening, he first reflects the sun’s rays down this opening 
by an ordinary mirror, and then gives them a horizontal direc- 
tion by means of a reflecting prism, on the inner face of which 
is cemented a little convex lens of 55 of an inch focus. When 
the solar light is transmitted through this apparatus, an observer 
at the other end of the long gallery sees it reduced 55,200 times, 
in which condition its appearance differs but little from that of 
Sirius. The intention, however, being to obtain not a compara- 
tive but an absolute reduction to the minimum visibile, or the 
equivalent of a faint 6 mag. star, another lens of 6 inches focus 
is interposed between the eye and the minute lens, and made by 
means of cords to traverse the long chamber at the observer’s 
pleasure, till the solar image, thus doubly diminished, is on the 
point of disappearance. ‘The reduction obtained in this way, 
amounting to 1,203,360 times, indicates that the sun, at that 
distance, would be only just visible to the unassisted eye ; while 
at 100,000 times his present distance, he would merely rank as 
a pretty bright first-magnitude star, though his parallax would 
be double that assigned to any star in the whole heavens. And 
hence he draws the following conclusion :—“ If the distances 
imputed to several of the stars from parallax can be true, I 
am sure those having the taste, talent, and leisure necessary 
for following up photometrical researches with efficiency, cannot 
fail to find our glorious luminary a very small star; and to the 
human understanding, thus enlightened, more than ever must 
the heavens declare the glory of God.” In confirmation of this 
result he subsequently removed the 8-inch object-glass from the 
tube of his equatoreal, and turned the eye-end to the sun, car- 
-rying two lenses of 35th and ;!, th of an inch focus, at an ad- 
justable distance from each other, and thus found, when his face 
was inserted in place of the object-glass, a reduction of about 
1,508,000 times necessary to obtain the minimum visibile; a 
result sufficiently accordant’ with the former, when the very 
delicate nature of the investigation is considered. In the 
interesting paper, of which this is an abstract, the ingenious 
author has taken into account the loss of light in reflexion, and 
its increase from the strongly illuminated neighbourhood of the 
-sun; and seems to have used every precaution in the conduct 
of his experiments. He adds that a similar mode of reduction 
brings the star Castor to the same point at a distance repre- 


62 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


sented by 10°3; Pollux 11; Procyon 12; Sirius 20; the full 
moon 3000; whence it appears incidentally that it would take 
the light of 400 moons to equal that of the sun—a result very 
different from those hitherto obtained, which are however alto- 
gether discordant among themselves. Bouguer, for instance, 
gave the proportion 300,000; Robert Smith 90,000; Lambert 
277,000; Wollaston 801,072. In speaking of a somewhat 
similar case, Sir John Herschel has observed that “ discordances 
of this kind will startle no one conversant with photometry.” 
But they evidently imply the necessity of further research : and 
whatever may be the comparative value of Mr. Clark’s experi- 
ments (which could hardly have been undertaken by a more 
competent observer), they must be acknowledged to be an im- 
portant move in the right direction. 


OCCULTATION, 
=2" A single occultation only will be conveniently visible during 
the month of February. 20th, 60 Cancri, 6 mag., will disap- 
pear from 6h. 32m. to 7h. 34m. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


BY W. B. TEGETMEIER. 


ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—Jan. 4. 


Inrropuction or Wauire Ants mwro St. Henena.—A communi- 
cation was read from the Lords of the Admiralty requesting the 
advice of the society as to the best means of securing the destruction 
of the white ants which had been introduced into James Town 
twenty years since, from the Coast of Guinea. Since which time 
they have multiplied to so great an extent as to have seriously 
injured every building in the town, and to have reduced some to. 
such a state of ruin as to compel the inhabitants entirely to abandon 
them. General Sir John Hearsey related his experience respecting 
the white ants in India, and stated that if they once gained access 
toa house their eradication was generally regarded as impossible, 
unless the house was taken down and rebuilt. He suggested 
the steeping of the timber in a solution of quick lime; but as this 
would rapidly become converted into carbonate of lime by exposure 
to the air, it does not offer much promise of success. For small 
articles General Hearsey recommended a solution of corrosive sub- 
limate. Mr. H, W. Bates, who has had much experience respectin 
these insects in the forests of South America, stated that they did 
not attack houses, furniture, or store boxes, constructed of a very 
hard wood called Acapu, and that it was customary to protect boxes, 
etc., of softer wood by raising them on blocks of acapu. When 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. ; 63 


the ants had. gained possession he found that they might be expelled 
by the free use of the arsenical soap employed im preserving 
animal skins. This soap, which is a compound of common soap, 
carbonate of potash, and white arsenic, is made into a lather with 
water, and brushed over the articles which it is wished to preserve. 
The great objection to such a proceeding is obviously the danger to 
the health of the inhabitants from the dissemination of the arsenic 
into the atmosphere. 

Mr. Robinson stated that the ravages of the white ants on the 
sleepers and other wood work of the Hast Indian railways had been 
entirely prevented by the use of creosote, but the exceedingly objec- 
tionable odour of this remedy would prevent its .being used ina 
dwelling-house. 


PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY.—Jan. 6. 


PREPARATION OF HssEnTiaAL O1s.—Mr. T. B. Groves suggested 
an exceedingly ingenious method for the separation of essential oils 
from watery solutions in which they exist in small quantities, such 
solutions being frequently produced by the distillation of aromatic 
herbs, etc. 

A proportion of olive oil is added to the aromatic solution; 
this is then formed into a soapy emulsion by the addition of potash. 
When this emulsion is destroyed by the addition of an acid, 
the olive oil rises to the surface, bringing with it all the 
aromatic oil, which may then be readily dissolved out of the fatty 
oil by agitation with rectified spirit. 


LONDON INSTITUTION.—Jan. 20. 


Sources or tHE Nine.—Dr. Beke delivered a lecture on the 
Sources of the Nile, in which he demurred altogether to the con- 
clusions of Captains Grant and Speke, as to the origin of that river 
in the Lake Victoria Nyanza. Dr. Beke maintains that the Nile 
merely flows through the Nyanza Lake, its true origin being in the 
Mountains of the Moon, which run from north to south parallel to 
the east coast. 

The mountains laid down by Captain Speke at the northern ex- 
tremity of the Lake Tanganyika, are stated by Dr. Beke to be 
entirely imaginary. 

Dr. Beke stated that Captains Grant and Speke had left a most 
important part of the river unexplored, namely, a large bend that 
extended for at least 200 miles, and that in this portion there was a 
fall of 1000 feet, which had not yet been examined or explained. 
The true source of the Nile Dr. Beke maintained to be the range 
of snow mountains on the eastern side of the Nyanza Lake, a district 
unexplored by Captains Grant and Speke’s expedition. The maps 
. exhibited by Dr. Beke showed that the recent explorations proved 
the correctness of the theories he had submitted to the Geogra- 
phical Society in 1849, and he proposed to undertake again in 
person the command of another expedition, which would be 


64. Notes and Memoranda. 


confined entirely to the south side of the equator, as the northern 
part of the river is being investigated by Madame Tinne’s party, 
which includes several scientific observers, as the Baron Von 
Heuglin. 


LONDON MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 
Hep ar Krye’s Correas, Jan. 13. 


Charles Brooke, Esq., President, in the Chair. 


Dr. Lionel 8. Beale read a very interesting paper on the white 
blood corpuscles, after which a very animated discussion took place, 
in which the President, Dr. Carpenter, Mr. A. Brady, Mr. Samuel- 
son, Dr. Beale, and Mr. H. Lobb, took part. The discussion was 
chiefly between Dr. Beale and Dr. Carpenter, and elicited consider- 
able applause from the meeting. ‘ 

A new table for heating slides-while mounting was exhibited by 
Mr. D. Everett Goddard, and which is certainly a great improvement 
on those previously in use. Instead of heating the slide by placing 
it on @ flat metal, the table is so constructed that the centre of the 
slide is heated by radiation, and the balsam in which the prepara- 
tion is mounted does not come in direct contact with the hot metal 
plate. 


NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 


RECENTLY NAMED Lunar CratEerRs.—Mr. Birt, of Hartwell Observatory, has 
communicated to the Astronomische Nachrichten the following notes on craters he 
has recently named.—405, 406. The Coxwell Mountains skirt the S.W. edge of 
Palus Somnii, Mount Glaisher being the culminating point just south of Proclus. 
‘407. Chevallier. <A. full-sized crater near Atlas. It is rather shallow, and has 
some formations within. 408, 409. Moigno and Peters are two somewhat 
similar and rather conspicuous craters when the Terminator is near them. 
They are in the neighbourhood of Christian Mayer. 410. The Teneriffe Moun- 
tains are the detached rocks on the Mare Imbrium, south of Plato. ‘They 
are respectively designated Petora, Guajara, Pico, Rambleta, Alta Vista, and 
Chajorra. The remarkable range between Plato and La Place is provisionally 
called “ Straight Chain.” A chart of the Teneriffe Mountains is in project. 411. 
Piazzi Smyth. A small crater near Kirch, itis between Petora and Guajara. 412 to 
415. Herschel II., Robinson, South, and Babbage form a fine group hitherto unre- 
presented as they appearin ourlunar maps. An account ofthis group will be found 
in the “ Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, for 
1862,” page 9; Transactions of the Sections. 416. The Perey Mountains, extending 
from Gussendi to Cavendish, form a fine chain with crater openings. This chain 
is interrupted by Mersenius. 417. Rosse. A fine walled plain, hitherto un- 
represented. 418 to 421. J. Franklin, Crozier, and MacClure form a bold head- 
land, projecting with the Mare Fecunditatis opposite the Pyrenees. 422. 
Wrottesley. A crater eastward of and adjoining Petavius. 423. Phillips. <A 
large crater adjoining Wilhelm Humboldt. It is lettered ‘‘ Humboldt,” in Beer 
and Madler’s, and also in Le Couturier’s maps; but the large crater rather west 
is really W. Humboldt. Beerand Midler describe it as such. 424, The Mare 
Smythii, named Kistner by Schréter, but very imperfectly represented by Beer 
and Madler, as to require some change. ‘he numbering is carried on from the 
Rey. J. W. Webb’s catalogue in his very useful work, Celestial Objects for 


Notes and Memoranda. 65 


Common Telescopes. Those localities marked (412, 3, 4, 7, 24) are unrepre- 
sented in Beer and Madler’s large map, but some very imperfect indications of 
them exist. The authority for the Selenographical Co-ordinates is Beer and 
Madler’s map. They however require a careful redetermination. It is proper to 
add to this list “Le Verrier,’ the name given in Le Couturier’s map to Beer and 
Madler’s Helicon A. in N. lat. 40° 11’ and E. long. 20° 25’. 


Snow Fann anp Winp Storms.—Marshal Vaillant says that the storm from 
which the fleet suffered in the Black Sea, in November, 1854, was caused by a 
heavy snow fall on the Caucasian Mountains. He imagines that the storm of 
2nd and 3rd December, 1863, may have arisen from a great snow storm in Scot- 
land, producing intense cold, that acted on the warm south wind that was 
prevalent in Hurope. Such snow storms might doubtless exert such an effect, 
but is there any evidence that a sufficient snow fall did occur in Scotland at the 
time?. 


Human Fossits From BRuNnrQquen.—M.M. Garigon, Martin, and Trutat 
describe in Comptes Rendus, two fragments of human jaws discovered in the 
cavern of Bruniquel (Tarne et Garonne). This cavern is in-a Jurassic limestone, 
and the soil found in it is formed by the superposition of several layers, which 
the writers examined at a depth of three metres. First was a stalagmite deposit 
of 22 centimetres; then an osseous breccia 1m. 48; then black clay beds repeated 
several times, in the midst of which was a pell mell of wrought flints of all known 
shapes; barbed arrow points; bones of carnivores, ruminants, and birds, and 
rounded pebbles. The writers remark that “the reindeer is characteristic of the 
age of this cavern, and that bearing in mind the four divisions established by M. 
Lartet for the quaternary epoch, we see at once that it is to the third paleonto- 
logical epoch that we must refer the fillmg up of this excavation.” Thetwo 
human jaw fragments were found in the presence of several witnesses, at a depth 
of about two metres, in a bed of clay, containing quantities of charcoal, wrought 
flints, and bones of ruminants. After various anatomical details, the writers . 
observe—“ Three human jaws are thus referred to the same type—brachycephalic 
—although they belong to epochs completely separated one from the other; that 
of Aurignac, with which was found the Ursus speleus; that of Moulin Quignon 
bedded with Elephas primigenius; and that of Bruniquel lyig in the midst of 
bones of the reindeer.” Amongst the bone fragments of this cave was found the 
humerus of a big bird, on which was roughly sculptured different parts of a fish. 


ARE DifFeRENT Bopies Luminous ar THE SaME TEMPERATURE ?—M. F, 
de la Provostaye details in Comptes Rendus a. process of theoretical reasoning, by 
which he arrives at the conclusion that different bodies progressively heated, do 
not become luminous at the same temperature. 


BEALE on Broop Corpuscies.—In a paper which will be found in the 
Quarterly Journal of Microscopic Science, My. Tionel Beale says—“ It is most 
remarkable that the red colouring matter of the blood corpuscles of different 
animals should crystallize in different forms; and there are instances of animals 
closely allied to each other, the blood crystals of which are quite distinct ; for 
example—the red colouring of the guinea pig assumes the form of tetra-hedra, 
while that of the squirrel crystallizes in six-sided plates, and that of the hamster 
in rhomboidal crystals.’ With reference to the condition of different portions of 
the blood, Professor Beale observes—‘ In man and in mammalia there are circular 
coloured corpuscles without a nucleus, and the so-called white or colourless cor- 
puscles, which are spherical. Now I believe that the ‘colourless corpuscles,’ and 
the ‘colourless nuclei’ of the red corpuscles, consist of matter in a living state, 
while there are reasons for the conclusion that the coloured material has ceased 
to exhibit vital properties.” While admitting that under certain circumstances 
the appearance of a cell-wall is produced, Professor Beale alleges various reasons 
for denying that such a structure is essential to a blood corpuscle. In concluding 
his paper he expresses his belief that “the red material is not living, but results 
from changes occurring in colourless living matter, just as cuticle, or tendon, or 
cartilage, or the formed material of the liver cell, results from changes occurring 
in the germinal matter of each of these cells. The colourless corpuscles, and 


Et 


66 Notes and Memoranda. 


those small corpuscles which are gradually undergoing conversion into red 
corpuscles, are living, but the old red blood corpuscles consist of inanimate 
matter.” 


Leap Rines ror Microscope Sripes.—Mr. John Butterworth, of Moor- 
side, near Oldham, writes to us that he cuts rings from lead tubes with a tenon 
saw, and finds them answer very well. Any inequality left by the saw can be 
removed by a file. Similar rings could easily be punched out of sheet lead of 
various thicknesses, but they would not be adapted for fluids, most of which 
would corrode them. 


Mr. GuaisHEeR’s 12TH January AscenT.—This ascent took place from the 
Arsenal, Woolwich, at two p.m., and the descent shortly after four at Lakenheath 
Warren, near Brandon. On the ground at starting the temperature was 42°, but 
at the height of half a mile it was nearly 4° warmer. At this height, Mr. Glashier 
had usually found it from 12° to 16° colder. The warm stratum of 8.W. wind 
was fully 3000 feet thick. The greatest height reached was 13,000 feet, when the 
darkness and fear of drifting seaward rendered a descent prudent. At starting, 
dew was deposited at 35°; at 36°, between 1500 and 3000 feet elevation ; and at 
zero, near 9500 was reached. 


StrRanGE WEATHER Fact at Mrtan.—We learn from the Presse Scientifique 
that on a date not given, although the sky was quite clear, the earth was covered 
with moisture, and the houses dripped as if drenched withrain. The supposed ex- 
planation is that the houses and soil had previously grown cold, and that a warm 
current of moist air was impelled against them. It is curious that no mist is 
reported as seen near the ground. 


Loss or Mrmory.—* The celebrated Professor Lourdat, of Montpellier, was 
obliged to reeommence his medical studies from the very beginning after termi- 
nating them with distinction, a typhoid fever having destroyed the fruits of five or 
six laborious years.”—Presse Scientifique. 


Sronex Sricutes.—Dr. Wallich, in a paper on Mineral Deposit in Rhizopods 
and Sponges in Annals of Natural History, gives anew view of this subject, 
according to which, when a spicule is to be formed, a vacuole of similar shape 
makes its appearance in the sarcode, and its long axis is traversed by a 
thread of sarcode, which he calls a vacuolar stolon. The stolon and the walls of 
the vacuole each secrete a layer of silex, after which the stolon usually diminishes 
in size, and secretes fresh layers of silex to occupy the vacancy. Layers of silex 
may, however, in some cases be deposited externally, and to make room for them 
the walls of the vacuole must recede. The mode of growth he considers different 
from what takes place in the mineral deposits of rhizopods. 


Tur LivErPoon Exprosron.—On the 15th January, at 7.25 p.m., the “ Lotty 
Sleigh,” containing about eleven and a half tons of gunpowder in 940 quarter 
kegs, blew up between Monk’s Ferry and the Tranmere Slip, in the Mersey. 
The Liverpool Post described two distinct explosions ; but three separate shocks 
were felt at Ross, where also the sound was heard. . Tremendous air waves were 
produced at Liverpool and Birkenhead, bursting open strong doors that were 
locked and barred, smashing an immense quantity of glass, and putting out the 
gas lights. At Gloucester the shock was felt, and likewise at Blockley, in Wor- 
cestershire. The report was so loud at Chester, that the authorities telegraphed 
to Liverpool to know what was the matter. For many considerations belongin 
to such concussions we must refer our readers to the article on * The Philosophy 
of Earthquakes,” in our number for December, 1863. We may add that Mr. 
Mallet found that the wave of the Neapolitan earthquake, which he investigated, 
travelled at the rate of 658°2 feet per second. How does this coincide with 
British experience in the Liverpool explosion shock? Perhaps the Ross ob- 


server felt the two shocks directly arising from the two explosions, and a reflected — 


shock resulting from one or both. 


Trochus sizipbinus. 


1) 
4 = 
4 4 
- 7 


Pithynia tentaculata. 


: >) t 
wslandicus. 


i 


we, 


Orula patula. 


PALATES CF MOLLU 


THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER. 


MARCH, 1864. 


THE DENTITION OF BRITISH MOLLUSCA. 
BY THE REV. G. ROWE, M.A. 
(With a Tinted Plate.) 


By way of preface, it will be well to remind the reader that 
the class Mollusca admits of a general subdivision into Acepha- 
lous and Hncephalous animals, the latter alone possessing heads. 
And although it by no means follows that they should therefore 
possess teeth, or that their headless relations should not have 
these useful instruments, yet it is among the Hncephala, or 
Gasteropods, that we find the subjects of our present observa- 
tions. These creatures are also, for the most part, occupants 
of a single shell, such as that of the whelk and the limpet, but 
some, as the land-snails and the beautiful nudibranchs of the 
ocean, are naked. 

The teeth of a Gasteropod do not answer to the ordinary 
signification of the term. They are organs of trituration and 
abrasion indeed, but are not used for the purposes of holding 
or biting. Many of the shell-less mollusks: have one or more 
horny mandibles ; and in some instances these are replaced, and 
even supplemented, by buccal plates armed with spines. Such 
isthe case with the genus Natica, and with Cyprea Europea. 
And Woodward states, that many of the flesh-eaters have a spiny 
collar at the end of their flexible proboscis. These afford the 
means of holding the food or prey, while, what I have here 
termed teeth, are employed in rasping it into the mouth. The 
so-called teeth are silicious plates of extreme tenuity, often 
beautifully outlined and curved, and frequently serrated at their 
edges. There are generally a great number of them, some- 
times many thousands, in one animal ; and they are rooted in a 
thin membrane, named, from its form and position, the dental 
or lingual ribbon. As this lingual band forms a very in- 
teresting object for the microscope, and only requires a little 

VOL. V.—NO. II. G 


68 The Dentition of British Mollusca. 


practice for its preparation, I will briefly describe the process, 
in the hope that some of my younger readers may be induced 
by its easiness to attempt it. | 

There need be no lack of subjects for examination. Peri- 
winkles, whelks, and limpets are to be obtained in most places, 
even inland; but if these sea “fish” are not to. be had, then 
every ditch will yield Limnei and Planorbes in abundance, or, 
as a last resource, the common snails and slugs of the garden 
and the lane must serve the turn. ‘The apparatus may be 
the simplest possible. One or two ordinary needles and as 
many surgical ones may be fixed into cedar pencil-sticks, or, 
better still, into the neat little bone holders used by ladies for 
their crochet-hooks. A few sharp pins will be required to 
hold down the parts. A common pocket-lens must be mounted 
so as to slide on an upright rod (a piece of soft wood stuck 
into a flat bit of lead will answer every purpose), for the dis- 
section necessitates some magnifying power and both hands 
must be free. It will also be well to have a pair of small curved- 
pointed scissors, and a pair of forceps with claw-ends. They 
will be wanted for the larger mollusks; but in many instances 
the needles only can be used, on account of the great delicacy 
of the operation. The prime requisites are patience and light 
fingers ; and assuming that the observer possesses both, let us 
now proceed to work. Select for a first example a good-sized 
periwinkle. If he is alive, scald him for a second, and then 
you will not be haunted by any qualms about vivisection ; but 
it will not matter for the nonce if your subject has been boiled 
and even salted. Break the shell with a smart blow, and dis- 
engaging the animal, pin him down with his foot or walking- 
surface underneath. Above, and in front, there will then be 
seen a loosish flap of skin; that is the mantle, and on turning 
it back, it will disclose the rostrwm or muzzle. It has two little 
fleshy tentacles at the sides (corresponding to the horns of a 
snail), and a small nearly circular aperture at the extremity, 
which should be turned to the right. Now, cautiously insert 
the curved point of the scissors and lay open the cavity of the 
mouth, but take especial care not to injure its floor, where 
it is paved with the tongue and its wondrous armature of teeth, 
If they are in the way, pin back the cut edges, and, with the 
needles, lift out the lingual band. It comes away readily, and 
as all the teeth are reflexed it may be drawn out forwards 
without risk of injuring them. It will probably require 
cleaning, which is most conveniently managed under trans- — 
mitted light. In some of the minuter examples, indeed, the 
whole process must be so done. ‘l’o effect this, get a cigar-box ; 
turn it on one side and make a clean hole in the upper one, 
half an inch in diameter. A small mirror, or piece of plain 


‘The Dentition of British Mollusca. 69 


glass blackened at the back, is to be placed inside at such an 
angle as to reflect the light through the hole. The object 
is then laid on a glass slide over the opening and cleaned with 
a camel-hair brush and distilled water. 
_ Only a portion of the tongue is in use at any one time. 
This is nearly flat and is held in its place by projections of the 
membrane on either side. The posterior part descends ob- 
liquely behind the mouth, and is formed into a cylinder by being 
enclosed in a membranous tube, which peels off like the finger of 
a glove turned inside out, and allows the whole of the lingual 
ribbon to be displayed as a flat strap. If particles of tissue 
adhere to it, they may be carefully removed by the brush, or 
the curved needle. But being very delicate, the tongue is 
often liable to be torn, if held meanwhile by a hard point; for 
this purpose a bristle is a very handy tool. The front of the 
tongue is in some cases folded at its end, so that the part 
most in use is at a short distance from the extremity. ‘This 
happens especially with the carnivorous species which bore 
through the shells of their prey. ‘The teeth on this portion are 
frequently worn down and. broken, and as it is essential to the 
well-being of the animal to have good teeth, the reserve so 
bountifnlly provided is brought gradually forward, the worn 
part being at the same time absorbed. ‘Thus a continually new 
rasping surface is secured. Quite at the hinder end of the tongue 
the teeth become rapidly imperfect and rudimental; but it 
admits of doubt whether they are in the act of growing, since 
the lingual band would appear to be originally prepared of such 
a length as to last effective as long as its owner requires it. In 
our periwinkle, the spare portion will be found beautifully coiled 
up in the body of the animal on the right side. That of the com- 
mon limpet passes backwards and downwards, doubling on itself 
in its course, and is more than twice as long as the mollusk. 
The tongue itself is divided for convenience of description 
into longitudinal areas, which are crossed by the rows of teeth. 
Of the former there are five, distinguishable by the different. 
characters of the teeth they bear; but they are not always 
all present. The teeth are consequently named the median, the 
lateral, and the wncini, although the latter are not necessarily 
more hooked than the others. The areas bearing the wneini 
have been called plewre. Since each row is a repetition of all 
the rest, the system of teeth admits of easy representation by 
a numerical formula, in which, when the wncini are very nume- 
rous, they are indicated by the sign oo (infinity), and the others 
by the proper figure. Thus, o. 5. 1.5. o, which represents 
the system in the genus T'rochus, signifies that each row con- 
sists of one median, flanked on both sides by five lateral teeth, 
and these again bya large number of wncini. When only 


70 The Dentition of British Mollusca. 


three areas are found, the outer ones are to be considered as 
the pleure, masmuch as there is not unfrequently a manifest 
division in the membrane between them and the lateral areas ; 
but never, as far as I have observed, between the latter and the 
median region. ‘This arrangement is typical of a large class, 
having the formula 3.1.3, which embraces genera so dissimilar as 
Cyprea, Aporrhais,and Natica, together with the vegetable feed- 
ing Littorinide, and the operculated land and fresh water mol- 
lusks. Again, when only two areas exist, it seems probable that 
this is caused by the absence of the central ones, and the teeth 
should therefore be termed uneini. Such is the case with the 
Bullide and the allied bare-gilled family of the Doride; and 
this conjecture is confirmed by the fact, that in Cylichna and 
its nearest allies, which are transition genera, a minute central 
tooth is: present. 

This subject has been investigated by several naturalists ; 
abroad, by Lovén and Troschel, and at home by Gray and 
Woodward, with a view to obtaining criteria for a syste- 
matic arrangement of Gasteropodous Mollusca. Up to the 
present time, however, their labours have only partially suc- 
ceeded. ‘The union under one formula of so many creatures 
widely differing in shell, anatomy, and habits, clearly indicates, 
that if the lingual ribbon contains generic characters, they have 
not yet been ascertained. At the same time, it does present 
differences which may offer collateral evidence in cases difficult 
of discrimination. It does not help us to separate carnivorous 
from phytophagous animals; but it seems possible to make use 
of it as a mark between species. For, in all the examples I 
have examined, there is a distinct difference between the tongues 
even of the most closely allied. Chiton discrepans is hard 
to tell from C. fascicularis by the outer parts alone; but the 
tongues are clearly distinct. Patella athletica may, it is said, 
be similarly divided from P. vulgata. The two British species 
of Acmea afford remarkable differences. Tvrochus ziziphinus 
and the nearly allied 7’. granulatus is another case in point. 
On the other hand, the occurrence in 7’. helicinus of six laterals 
is one of the reasons which suggest a change in its generic 
name ; and great lingual dissimilarity demands the separation 
of our two fresh-water Ancyli. In this way supposed varieties 
may be possibly decided. If, for instance, the lingual ribbon 
of the many subdivisions of Intorina rudis is constant in its 
characters, they cannot be received as species. Again, the 
position of the fluviatile Paludinide in close proximity to 
the sea-loving Jntorinide is confirmed by the likeness of 
their dentition; while Neritina fluviatilis, "with the formula 
oo. 3. 1. 3. o, shows an approach to the genus T’rochus. 

All the land and fresh-water mollusks without opercula 


‘The Dentition of British Mollusca. ; 71 


show a great similarity in their dentition. Their tongues are 
“like a tesselated pavement,” so regular are their numerous 
teeth. These are mostly rectangular in ground-plan, and 
armed with a single (or sometimes triple) recurved point. 
They are often so very minute, that their characters are barely 
discernible, even by the aid of the best lenses. When this 
happens, we may avail ourselves of the rule established by 
Mr. W. Thomson, who first in England directed attention to 
this subject. He found that the form of the whole transverse 
row corresponds to certain peculiarities in the teeth, to such an 
extent as to be an almost equally safe guide in questions of 
affinity. Thus, each row passes straight across the tongue in 
Planorbis albus and vortex, is curved in Limax marginatus, 
and suddenly bent in Zonites cellarius. Whence it may be 
inferred that the teeth are all similar in cases like the first 
named, and gradually or suddenly differ in the others res- 
pectively. 

It is among the in-operculated members of the order Pul- 
monifera that we meet with the most astonishing instances of 
large numbers of teeth. Imax mazimus possesses 27,000, 
distributed through 180 rows of 160 each. Helix pomatia has 
21,000; and its comparatively dwarfed congener, H. obvoluta, 
no less than 15,000. When it is remembered that these 
estimates refer to series of forms, often elegantly curved and 
sculptured, the total area sustaining them not measuring at the 
utmost more than half an inch long and one-eighth broad, we 
must be filled with admiration at the marvellous prodigality of 
the great creative power thus bestowed upon such a small part 
of the organization of an humble snail. And when I ask my 
readers to examine these things for themselves under the 
microscope, I venture to think that the varied and beautiful 
outlines and serried ranks of these delicate amber-coloured 
atomies will be viewed with a delight whose depth and intensity 
the observers of nature can alone rightly measure. 

The examples figured in the plate are drawn from 
original preparations,* and represent the principal types. 
And in the following table I have placed the genera 
known to me under their respective formule, as some 
guide to the student of these objects. The group charac- 
terized by the numbers 1.1.1 will be noticed as the best, the 
animals being all flesh-eaters, with the exception of, per- 
haps, Lamellaria. The generic names are those employed by 
Forbes and Hanley, in their British Mollusca. 


* Those of Lamellaria, Doris, Goniodoris, and Eolis papillosa are from pre- 
parations kindly lent me by Mr. Brady, York. 


w 


72 Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 


1 1 1 Dentalium, Lamellaria, Murex, Purpura, 
Nassa, Buccinum, Fusus. 

3 1 3 Calyptreide, Paludinide,  Litorinide, 
Aporrhais, Natica, Velutima, Tricho- 
tropis, Cyprea, Ovula, Cyclostoma. 

3 0 3 Acmea. 

1 0 1 Mangelia, Philine (Cylichna?), Bulla, Go- 
niodoris. 

co 0 o Scalaria, Doris. 

0 1 0 Kolis. ; 

co 1 co Many of the section In-operculata. 

me ede 6 Phiton. 

> § 0 § 8S Patella. 

o 5 1 5 o Fissurella, Haliotis, Trochus. 

co 6 1 6 o ‘Trochus (Margarita) helicinus. 

co 4 1 4 o KEmarginula. 

co. 3..1 3. co» Nerina % 


AUTOMATIC WEIGHING OF GOLD AND SILVER 
PLANCHETS AT THE ROYAL MINT. 


BY JOSEPH NEWTON.. 
(With an Illustration.) 


Tue marvellous progress which has been made in mechanical 
science in this country during the last half century is nowhere 
more practically demonstrated than in the new weighing-room of 
the Royal Mint. That handsomely-appointed apartment of the 
money-making establishment contains twelve small machines, 
each one the counterpart of its neighbour, and which, for 


delicacy of finish and beauty of minute constructive detail, — 


may be said to equal, if not to excel, any mechanical apparatus 
owing its existence to the conception and the fingers of man. 
They appear, indeed, when in motion to be gifted with intelli- 
gence, and they certainly constitute the nearest approach to 
thinking machines that have as yet been contrived. 

The task of the automatic weighing..machines of the Mint, is, 
to receive each individual planchet or disc of the precious metal 
produced by the laminating mills and cutting-out presses, and 
to answer the question as to whether or not those planchets are 
of the legal weight, which qualifies them for conversion into 


current coins of the realm. This highly important duty the 


automatons perform with a degree of speed, regularity, and 
accuracy impossible of achievement by direct human agency. 
No matter what the extent of skill, care, and aptitude the mani- 


| 


LT 


THE AUTOMATIC WEIGHING BALANCE AS USED AT THE ROYAL MINT, 


Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint, ey ed 


pulator might bring to the work, he could not—as has been 
over and over again proved—weigh planchets of gold or silver 
to the extreme nicety which the Mint machines have been made 
to reach. Through their media the infallible and beautiful law 
of gravitation is enlisted into the service of her Majesty’s coiners, 
and the results obtained thereby are as unfailingly constant and 
exact as is the action of that law. 

Before proceeding to describe more closely the principle 
and the peculiarities of construction of the automatic balances, 
it may not be improper to offer a few remarks upon the great 
importance to the Mint and to the community at large, of 
the accurate weighing, or “sizing,” as the ancient term 
stands, of pieces of gold or silver intended for transfor- 
mation into the circulating medium. From the very earliest 
period in the annals of minting, its consequence and value 
have been recognized. Even before coins were in use at all 
in the British islands, and when slips or cuttings of the pre- 
cious metals represented money, the sizing of those slips was 
necessarily attended to, and that with as much care and exacti- 
tude as the rude appliances of the time admitted. It was usual 
at that remote era—which was immediately preceded by the age 
of barter—for the inhabitants of Britain to go to market, or out 
shopping, laden with sufficient metal for effecting their intended 
purchases, and to carry with them instruments for dividing, 
and scales and weights for weighing it. This primitive process 
was found to be inconvenient, uncertain, and very troublesome, 
and soon the expedient was resorted to of having pieces of 
metal cut and weighed before gomg out marketing. These 
clippings were at once the prototypes of, and the substitutes for, 
coins. 

At length, and owing to frauds practised by buyers and 
sellers, both in respect of the weighing, and the debasement of 
the metallic symbols, it became necessary to interpose the 
authority of the law, and thus to regulate and systematize the 
rude and unshapely currency. Then appeared stamps or im- 
pressions, emblems of that authority, and guarantees of the 
weight and fineness of the metallic dumps upon which they were 
imprinted. ‘To these marks of genuineness were subsequently 
added the names of the authorized moneyers by whom they 
were struck or stamped. The next step in the march of im- 
provement was to decorate—as well as the artists of the day 
could accomplish that operation—the pieces of metal with re- 
presentations of the monarch, prince, or prelate under whose 
sanction they were issued. Dates, legends, and inscriptions 
followed in process of time, but, as has been shown, the accurate 
sizing or weighing of the metals was always a subject of grave 
consideration, : 


“J 
Co + 


Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 


Without pushing historical research further into the misty 
atmosphere of the far-off past, it may be stated that every Act 
of Parliament since the Parliamentary institution itself came 
into being, and every Royal Proclamation passed and promul- 
gated in England, for the purpose of legalizing coins of the 
realm, has defined with great precision, though sometimes 
rather verbosely, the standard weight, and the standard degree 
of fineness, of each denomination of such coins. The law 
makers and the monarch of the kingdom haye, however, inya- 
riably recognized the impossibility of producing coins in large 
quantities of the precise legal standards of weight and of fine- 
ness. A certain variation above and below those standards has 
always been permitted, and this specifically as a ‘‘ remedy” for 
imperfection of workmanship. All Acts of Parliament and 
other legal documents having reference to the manufacture of 
money, are explicit as to the limits of this remedy. The gradual 
improvements effected from time to time in minting machmery 
and appliances, and increasing chemical knowledge, have 
allowed of the periodical reduction of the remedy, and it would 
no doubt be curious to trace out and note the changes and 
modifications which have at yarious epochs been effected in this 
direction. At present such is not the purpose we have in view, 
interesting and instructive as the results of such a search might 
prove. It must suffice, therefore, to say that, notwithstand- 
ing all the mechanical and other advantages which the existing 
Royal Mint possesses over mints of the olden time, it has not 
been able to dispense with a “remedy” for imperfection of 
workmanship. 

The varying density of the metals used in the manufacture 
of coins is one substantial reason why perfect uniformity m the 
weight of individual pieces cannot be obtained. The machinery 
of that establishment is throughout excellent, and millions of 
planchets of gold and of silver are continually being yielded by 
it, which, if measured individually by means of the finest 
micrometer gauge, would not exhibit the most infinitesimal differ- 
ence of size. Placed ina delicately-poised balance, they would, 
on the contrary, display material differences ; some would be 
found above, and others below, the strictly legal and true stan- 
dard weight. 

Absolute uniformity of weight among coins is a ‘ Will-o’- 
the wisp,” which no one who understands anything of the art 
of coining would think of pursuing. ‘The mere clasping of a 
dise of gold between the thumb and finger on a summer’s day 
will alter the weight of that disc, as the test balances of the 
Mint bear evidence, andchanges of temperature will produce 
a similar result. 

It is not essential to examine further into the minute and 


r 


Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. ae | 


almost occult causes which affect the weight of coms; in- 
equalities will exist between planchets of gold and silver though 
cut mathematically of the same dimensions, and all that can be 
- done is to minimize the variations. Probably this object has 
been accomplished more completely in the British Mint than in 
any other mint in the world, and the legal “remedy” for 
imperfect manipulation is smaller there than in any other exist- 
ing money manufactory. 

The standard of fineness is a point to which reference has 
been made, and upon which it may be well to add a few further 
observations. A parallel difficulty exists im obtaining uniformity 
in this direction. Standard gold should contain twenty-two 
parts of fine gold and two parts of alloy. The mixture is made 
at the Mint with scrupulous care; but, in spite of this, the 
assayer on testing the resulting planchets will find diversity 
of quality. The law allows and legalizes this diversity, to 
a very limited extent it is true, but it does allow it. Sovereigns 
and half sovereigns issued from the Tower Hill establishment 
are sought after and used by the jewellers of all nations in the 
manufacture of trinkets, for they are aware that there is more 
certainty of those pieces of money being very near to standard 
than there is of the gold coms of any other country. Hence 
they know precisely how much alloy to add to molten coins, in 
order to reduce the mass to the low standard of jeweller’s 
gold. Thus, in both a mechanical and chemical sense, it may 
be fairly asserted that the Royal Mint is in advance of all other 
mints. 

It is to its mechanical excellence that we desire more espe- 
cially to attract the attention of our readers; and, as we 
commenced by observing, this is nowhere more convincingly 
illustrated than in the fitments of the weighing-room. The 
weighing balances reject all planchets which are “out of 
remedy,” that is, all which are above or below the lines of 
variation drawn by legal enactment, and they accept for coinage 
all that are within those lines. Before advancing to the de- 
scription of their mode of action in achieving this desideratum, 
we shall introduce in a tabulated form the standard weight, 
the legal maximum weight, the legal minimum weight, the 
“remedy,” and the dimensions of every denomination of coin 
circulating in Great Britain and the principal colonies. Such 
a table, which is given in the following page, will, it is hoped, 
be of practical value, as it will certainly conduce to a clearer 
conception of the ingeniously constructed automaton balances, 
and of the nature of their almost judicial offices :— 


73 Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 


Tabular View of Weights and Dimensions of British Coins. 
GOLD COINS. 


Ee . Standard | Legal max.} Legal min.| Legal | Diam.of| Thickness 
Denomination of Coin. weight. | weight. weight. |‘remedy.’} coin. of coin. 


Se ee EE ee 


gprs. pts. grs. pts. grs. pts. | grs. pts. | inches. inches, 
Sovereign .........06 123:274 | 123531 | 123-017 | 0:256.| 0°875 | 0°0476 
Half-sovereign ...... 61°637 61°765 61508 | 07128 | 0755 | 0:0312 


SILVER COINS.* 


Standard | Legal max. | Legal min.| Legal | Diam.of} Thickness 


Denomination of Coin. weight. weight. weight. |‘remedy.’| coin. of coin. 


SS ee ee | 


gprs. pts. grs. pts. grs. pts. | ers. pts.| inches. inches. 


BIDE cheeks snacens 174545 | 175°272 | 173°818 | 0°727 | 1:166 | 0:0625 
PN. Zaisesis aves see 87°272 87'636 86:909 | 0:363 | 0:916 | 0:0500 
Sixpence ......000..5 43°636 43°818 43°454 | 0181 | 0°755 | 0:0370 
Threepence_........: 21°818 21:909 21-727 | 0090 | 0°666 | 0:0270 


Twopence (Maundy)| 14545 | 14606 | 14-484] 0060 | 0546 | 0:0230 
Penny Ge, eee) 7272 7-303 7°242 | 0:030 | 0:422 | 0:0202 


BRONZE COINS. 


Standard | Legal max. | Legal satan’ Legal | Diam.of | Thickness 


Denomination of Coin. | “Weight, weight, weight. } remedy.’| coin. of coin. 

prs. pts. prs. pts. ers. pts. | grs. pts.| inches, inches. 
Penny .....ssc0000--.] 145°833 | 148°749 | 142-916 | 2°916 | 1:200 | 00555 
Halfpenny .........++ 87°500 89°230 85°750 | 1:750 | 1:000 | 0:0512 


Farthing ............ 43°750 44:626 42675 | 0:075 | 0°800 | 0:0384 


To the foregoing tables, which deal with the whole of the 
coinage of Great Britain as at present issued from the Mint, it 
may not be improper to append similar particulars in reference 
to the copper coins, which are fast disappearing from circulation. 
A comparison between the new bronze and the old copper 
pieces of money, of which such a course permits, the institution 
will exhibit palpably the economy of metal in the constitution 
of the former :— 
OLD COPPER COINAGE. 


Denomination of Coin, | Seandard | Legal mar. | Legal min. | Legal ,| Diam-of| Tackness 
grs. pts. prs. pts. ars. pts. | grs. pts.| inches, inches. 
Penny .....ssse000+--| 291666 | 298°958 | 284375 | 7:291 | 1°338 0:0937 
Halfpenny ,........... 145'0 38 | 149°479 | 142°187 | 3645 | 1104 00781 
Farthing ............| 72°916 74°739 71:093 | 1:822 | 0875 00555 


4 Crowns, half-crowns, and groats, are omitted from this list, because none | 
have been struck at the Mint for many years past, and they may therefore be 
deemed obsolete. 


Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 79 


It will be observed that the legal remedy allowed upon gold 
coins is very small, that that upon silver coins is somewhat 
larger, whilst the legal remedy upon bronze and copper money 
permits a rather wide range above and below the actual 
standard. The rule at the Mint, however, in each case, is 
to divide the actual differences as nearly equally as possible 
between the two extremes. The result is that, on large quan- 
tities of coin, a theoretical standard is attained. Silver and 
bronze coins are merely tokens of value, and individual varia- 
tions between the particular coins of each respective denomina- 
tion are of comparatively little consequence. With regard to 
gold the matter is differently based. The sovereign and the 
half-sovereign are intrinsically and nominally of the same 
respective value that their names imply, and they cease to 
become legal tenders when by abrasion they fall below a certain 
weight. The weight at which the sovereign may be refused by 
the Bank of England is gers. 122°500 pts. Thus the allowance 
for the wear and tear of circulation below the minimum weight 
of grs. 123017 pts. at which it may have been issued from the 
Mint is ‘517, or little more than halfa grain. The lowest point 
of weight at which a half-sovereign ceases to be a legal 
tender is grs. 61'255 pts., its minimum weight at the Mint 
having been, as shown above, grs. 61°508 pts. It is not 
often that the Bank or any individual is so scrupulously exact 
as to draw the line of demarcation at the precise points indi- 
cated, though the law would justify such a proceeding. 

Having thus endeavoured to explain the origin and to 
demonstrate the importance of the weighing operation in the art 
of coining, we may proceed further to state that, prior to the 
year 1851, the whole of the gold and silver planchets produced 
at the Royal Mint were weighed by workmen employed there, 
and known as “‘sizers.”” ‘These occupied a large room in the 
establishment, from which currents of air which might disturb 
their balances were carefully excluded, and they were each 
supplied with a tiny pair of scales and weights, resembling 
somewhat those used by the chemist and druggist in the dis- 
pensation of their “medicinal gums.” ‘To each sizer was 
apportioned a certain quantity of planchets, and he became the 
arbiter of their destiny. The “too heavy” pieces were thrown 
on one side, to be reduced in some cases by filing, and then 
re-weighed, and the “too light’? pieces on the other side, for 
relegation to the melting-house. The medium planchets were 
passed into a receptacle placed near at hand to catch them. 
Constant practice induced among the sizers a certain amount of 
accuracy in their operations. But, towards the close of a day’s 
work it not unfrequently happened that their eyes and fingers 
grew tired of watching and moving, and a reckless admixture 


80 Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 


of “too heavy,” “ too light,” and ‘“ medium” planchets was the 
consequence. 

In 1851 the knell of this imperfect system of weighing was 
sounded. The Company of Moneyers, who had long enjoyed the 
profitable privilege of coining the moneys of the realm, and who 
traced the existence of predecessors filling similar posts back to | 
the days of the Heptarchy—fell, under the pressure of a Royal 
Commission, and were pensioned off. The Mint thus came 
entirely into the hands of the Government. Sir Jolin Herschel 
was appointed Master, and Captain Harness, R.E. (now Colonel, 
C.B.), Deputy Master of the Mint, and the last-named gentle- 
man employed himself energetically and skilfully in re-organiz- 
ing the establishment on a new footing. ‘Iwo clerks and two 
mechanics were appointed to succeed in the performance of the 
duties, though, unfortunately for themselves, not to anything 
resembling the emoluments of the Moneyers, and in November, 
1851, the first comage of gold under the Government régime _ 
commenced. Several millions of sovereigns were struck by the ~ 
following Christmas, and very soon the new Moneyers, as they 
may be termed, became masters of their work. Captain 
Harness was not long in discovering the fallibility of the mode 
of sizing which had been for many centuries before pursued ; 
and, as Mr. Cotton, of the Bank of England, aided by the 
mechanical genius of Mr. James Napier, had already devised 
and patented an automaton balance for the detection and rejec- 
tion of light gold, the Captain determined, if possible, to make 
the apparatus available for minting purposes, and thus to super- 
sede the time-honoured, but very adequate and unsatisfactory 
practice of hand-weighing. Mr. Napier was consulted, and 
that eminent mechanist was not long in realizing the aspira- 
tions of Captain Harness. In a few months several automaton 
balances were prepared for the Mint. It was essential that 
these should be so constructed as that they should be capable of 
separating the light and heavy planchets from those which 
were of the medium weight, and it will be at once understood, 
therefore, that this exigency demanded further complexity in 
the machines than was apparent in the Bank automatons. The 
Bank had no objection to too heavy coins; their dislike was 
simply confined to those which were too light, and their 
machines had only to reject such as ‘when weighed in the 
balance” were “found wanting.” Mr. Napier solved the more 
difficult problem in the manufacture of the automatons for the 
Royal Mint. Experiments in his own factory in the first 
instance enabled him to do this, and when the machines were 
transferred to the Mint, they were accordingly found to perform 
their onerous and delicate functions with unerring exactitude. 
It became a question of some moment as to what part of the 


Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 81 


establishment the new and silent, but most efficient coiners’ 
assistants should occupy on their arrival at Tower Hill. 
Above all things it was important that they should be undis- 
turbed in their vocation by the tremor or vibration of the 
powerful steam engines and ponderous machinery engaged in 
the reduction of bar go!d into planchets, or by the heavy and 
continuous beatings of the coming-presses, which finally con- 
verted those planchets into coin. A large room, on the base- 
ment story of the Coining Department buildings, and which 
had been used as a kind of gigantic ‘‘ what-not,” or magazine 
for the reception of odds and ends of every kind, by the 
Monueyers, appeared to offer peculiar attractions, and finally the 
marine stores within it—the accumulations of half-a-century 
nearly—were displaced and disposed of in order to make way 
for the incoming tenants. The room was lofty, large, and light ; 
and, singularly enough, it was situated immediately beneath 
the old sizing-room, the operations of which the automatons 
were intended to supersede. A short time sufficed to effect a 
marvellous transformation in the internal aspect of the future 
weighing-room. Its dingy and dirty walls and ceilings, covered 
by spiders’ webs and honeycombed by age, were cleansed | 
and renovated. A longitudinal trench of considerable 
depth was dug in it, and this afterwards filled in with 
concrete and stone, served as a foundation for the weighing 
balances. So far as isolation of position was concerned, this 
arrangement was perfect, and a line of low cast-iron tables— 
rather too low, perhaps, for the convenience of the attendants— 
was speedily implanted on the solid foundation. These tables, 
planed on their upper surfaces, which were made to a “‘ dead 
level,” were not long unoccupied. The automatons, in plate- 
glass and brass frames, soon glistened upon the tables, and, 
at a first glance, reminded one forcibly of as many skeleton 
drawing-room clocks arranged for inspection or sale. In order 
to communicate motion to them, a line of small bright wrought- 
iron shafting, supported by neat pendants of cast-iron attached 
to the ceiling, and upon which were hung brass three- 
motion pulleys, was made to span the length of the room. The 
shafting was immediately and high above the line of machines, 
and fine gut bands, passing over its pulleys, descended to 
corresponding pulleys on the main driving spindles of the 
automatons. The lower series of pulleys were immediately 
outside the machine cases through holes in which the spindles 
ran, and a small brass weight, lever, and friction wheels were so 
attached as to tighten the bands sufficiently to give constant 
motion to the coin-feeding slides, etc., of the tiny con- 
trivances within. A series of thumb-screws were added, for 
the application of pressure great enough to stop the action of 


82 Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 


each machine at a moment’s notice. The withdrawal of the 
pressure permitted them to resume their duties at the same . 
brief notice. 

In aremote corner of the room was placed the direct, though 
in itself secondary, motive power—a small atmospheric engine. 
This was constructed so as to resemble very closely a high- 
pressure steam engine. It had cylinder, piston, slides, fly- 
wheel, and governor. Beneath the cylinder, and forming its 
bed-plate indeed, was a vacuum-chamber of considerable di- 
mensions. ‘This could be exhausted by an air-pump, with 
which a two-inch pipe connected it; whilst the extent of rare- 
faction within it was made controllable by means of a steelyard 
relief-valve, and a barometer-gauge placed on the exhaust-pipe. 
The air-pump was the same which gave motion to the pneu- 
matic apparatus of the coining-presses. It was on the double- 
acting principle—that is, it exhausted in both up and down 
strokes, and had many peculiarities to distinguish it from 
ordinary air-pumps. The writer may fairly take some credit. 
for its invention and introduction to the Royal Mint. Return- 
ing to the atmospheric motor of the automatom weighing 
balances, it must be further said that when its vacuum-chamber 
was exhausted, and the opening of a cock in the exhaust-pipe 
caused it instantaneously to be so, it was only necessary 
further to move the fly-wheel slightly (so as to turn the crank 
of the engine past the centre) im order to put it in motion. 
A stream of air from the room rushed immediately through a 
small brass tube, having a trumpet-mouth, into the cylinder, 
and acted upon the piston, as steam from the boiler in an or- 
dinary engine would act. fastened to the arms of the fly- 
wheel was a pulley, and a strap from this passing round a 
similar pulley gave motion to the overhead shaft. 

We have gone thus minutely into a description of the propel- 
ling arrangements of the weighing balances, because they are 
unique, and they combine perfect isolation with perfect regu- 
larity of motion. The varying speed of the general machinery of 
the establishment cannot affect that of the atmospheric engine 
and the shafting it drives, because a uniform vacuum is preserved 
in the vacuum-chamber of the former, and the air exerts a con- 
stant pressure on its piston. This uniformity is a sine qua non 
for correct weighing. As the mind of a judge in a court of 
justice must, if his decisions are to be just, be unswayed by 
passion or prejudice, so must the mute judges of the Mint 
planchets of gold or silver be undisturbed in their action, if 
their sentences are to be truthful and worthy confirmation. We 
have said that the law of gravitation is infallible; it is so, but 
it must be allowed fair play and perfect freedom to ensure in- 
fallibility. In the Mint balances it is the ruling power, but 


Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 83 


that power must not be tampered with. Balances must not 
be hurried in their movements. It is said that those who 

think twice before they speak once, will speak twice the 
better for it; but certainly the balance which is allowed 
due time for acting will yield far more truthful results 
than that which is not. One of the great principles of the 
automaton, therefore, is deliberation, the other, regularity of 
motion. Let us now proceed to show how mechanical arrange- 
ments give practical force to both principles. 

We will imagine that a large number—say 10,000 ounces 
weight, for example—of sovereign planchets have reached the 
weighing-room. ‘They are first weighed in bulk, because it is 
necessary that a check should exist upon the few workpeople 
who are to be entrusted with the task of feeding the automatons, 
and then commences their distribution among the machines, 
each of which is supplied with a brass spout, twenty inches 
long, and placed at an angle. In these spouts roleaux of plan- 
chets are carefully deposited, the lowest planchet in each case 
resting on the top of the machine, and the others supported in 
regular order, planchet upon planchet, above it. Now, there- 
fore, allis ready for action, and the automatons simply require 
that a small coupling upon each of their main spindles shall, by | 
the pressure of the thumb and finger of an attendant, be made 
to revolve with the loose pulleys upon them. Possibly it may 
simplify and render more intelligible our description if we 
single out one balance for illustration ; and here it may be also 
said that the whole theory of the automatic weighing machines 
depends upon the fact that the centre of gravity and the centre 
of action of its beam are in one line, or on one level. Hither 
centre being disturbed, the balance will be no longer equal. 
The beam, which is of well-tempered steel, is 8°90 inches in 
length, and weighs 288:41 Troy grains. Its knife edges find 
their own resting-places upon curved loops of steel beneath 
them, and as the points of contact are small, the friction is 
minimized. The beam is supported immediately below the 
feeding-spout or hopper, and is preserved from dust by being 
covered with a brass plate. Above the upper part of one end 
of the beam—that immediately in advance of the foot of the 
hopper—is seen a flat disc of polished steel, slightly larger in 
diameter than a sovereign planchet. ‘This is in fact the scale- 
pan, and it forms the upper part of a fine steel rod, delicately 
poised, and readily moved by, or moving the beam. Above 
the opposite end of the beam depends another steel rod, 
and this, finishing with a cage at the base of the machine, 
carries a glass counterpoise of the minimum legal weight 
of a sovereign. Below the cage, but not attached to it, is 
a “stirrup,” in which rests a piece of platinum wire of the 

VOL. V.~—NO. II. H 


84 Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 


precise weight of the legal difference or remedy allowed 
between sovereigns as a compensation for imperfection 
of workmanship—namely, the 514th part of a grain. Sup- 
posing, now, the machine to be started, the first action is 
that caused by a cam attached to the main spindle, and it 
consists in a small slide, shghtly thinner than a sovereign, 
being pushed below the hopper, and forcing forward a planchet 
to the scale-pan or disc. There it rests for about three seconds, 
and its exact weight is, during the brief interval, noted by the 
automaton. If that weight exceeds the legal maximum, it 
depresses the end of the beam upon which it rests, and, as a 
consequence, raises the opposite end with its stirrup and remedy 
wire. The planchet is thus proved to be too heavy, and as a 
flattened tube vibrates below, it is pushed into this by its suc- 
cessor on the scale-pan—another planchet. The lower orifice 
of the tube passes in its vibrations over the spaces, or slots, and 
these lead into three compartments, known as “ light,” 
“medium,” and “heavy” boxes. At the instant the too: 
heavy planchet was dismissed into the tube, the lower mouth 
of the latter was held by a mechanical finger, governed by the 
movement of the beam, over the inner or too heavy box, and 
into this the rejected claimant for sovereignty falls. The next 
planchet may be imagined to err on the other side of the 
standard, and to be too light. In this case the beam will be 
raised by the glass counterpoise, and the tube, by the agency 
referred to, will conduct the condemned piece of gold into the 
too light box. When a medium or acceptable planchet arrives 
on the scale-pan, the beam will maintain a rigid equilibrium, 
and the succeeding planchet will push it into the tube, which 
having its mouth held over the central or medium slot, will 
conduct the accepted suitor into the medium box. In this way 
the automaton judges try and acquit or pass sentence of con, 
demnation upon all the planchets submitted to their notice. 
They are thus constituted mute arbiters of the other mechanical 
operations of the Mint, and they take care at once of the public 
and the Mint’s interests. It is not possible, so long as their 
intervention is secured, for light sovereigns to pass into circu- 
lation, nor for the Master of the Mint to waste the precious 
material of which they are composed, by issuing heavy ones. 
The automatons hit the happy medium, and “hold the balance 
fairly” between manufacturer and consumer. Parsimony and 
excessive liberality are alike unknown to them; they are just, 
but not o’er generous. 

Finally, it may be observed of the system of automatic 
weighing at the Mint, that it is as near perfection as possible. 
It is also economical in the highest degree; for though each 
machine employed cost a fraction over £200, they have—to.use 


Tee, tame fy 
ee AE ie a Ste Oe Ai 
eae , 7 


y 


The Harthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 85 


a common expression well understood—paid for themselves 
over and over again in the saving of wages and of gold 
effected by their use. The maximum number of planchets 
which the automatons can satisfactorily ‘‘ dispose of” im a day 
amounts to 200,000, and the average per cent. of rejected may 
be set down at five. At the close of each day the whole pro- 
ceeds are weighed up in bulk—the good planchets being after- 
wards forwarded for stamping, and the bad returned to the 
crucible for re-melting. An attempt has been made to save 
some of the “too heavy,” as brands from the burning, by 
fiine and scraping their edges in a noisy machine; but the 
value of the process is questionable. If their surfaces could be 
touched in a discriminating way by means of a file, or cutter, 
the case might be different. As itis, the coins are likely to 
suffer artistically by the use of the scraper, and this is an 
undue price to be paid for a problematical advantage. We 
give at p. 73 an illustration representing one of the Automaton 
Balances of the Mint, the artist having removed a portion of 
the “case” so that the “‘ works” may be the better seen. 


THE HARTHQUAKE AT MENDOZA, 207s MARCH, 1861. 


BY WM. BOLLAERT. 


(With a Tinted Plate.) 


IT-am indebted to my friend Major Rickard,* who visited 
Mendoza in May, 1862, for the admirable photographic view of 
the devastation occasioned by the dreadful earthquake which 
occurred on the 20th March, 1861, and which is excellently, 
shown in the annexed plate, and also for a remarkable letter 
written by Don Domingo de Oro, a gentleman who was buried 
for five hours beneath the ruins of the city, and containing many 
interesting and hitherto unpublished facts. I have translated 
this letter from the original Spanish, believing that it would be 
acceptable to English readers; but before introducing Don | 
Domingo’s terrible recital, I will offer a few remarks relative to 
the city and province of Mendoza, and make the narrative more 
complete by citations from other letters written from the scene 
of the disaster. 

Mendoza is situated in 82° 52’ §. lat., 69° 6’ W. long., 4891 
feet above the level of the sea, and at the eastern foot of the 


_ * See A Mining Jowrney across the Great Andes, with Explorations in the 
Silver Mining Districts of San Juan and Mendoza, by Major F. J. Rickard, F.G.8., 
ete, ete.—Simith, Eider, § Co., 1863, _ 


86 The Harthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 


Great Andes. It is shut out from any view of the Cordillera 
by a range of lower mountains which intervene. The appear- 
ance of the city before the earthquake was neat and cheerful, 
the houses of one story, with porticoes, mostly built of adobes, a 
sun-dried brick, plastered and whitewashed, and the streets laid 
out at right angles, Its Alameda or public walk was equal to 
anything of the kind in South America, being nearly a mile in 
length, nicely kept, and shaded by rows of magnificent poplars, 
or alamos, from which its name. 

The climate is delightful and salubrious, although goitre 
affects a few. The population of the city before its destruc- 
tion was some 16,000 souls, about one-third of that of the 
whole province. The Province of Mendoza occupies a space 
~ of 150 miles N. and §., along the eastern side of the Cordillera 
of the Andes, and about as much H. and W. It produces 
wine, brandy, raisins, figs, wheat, flour, hides, tallow, soap, etc. 


Of its mines, those of silver at Uspallata are important; and. 
among its mineral products are reckoned, copper, limestone, 


gypsum, alum, mineral pitch, bituminous shales, coal (probably 
tertiary), slates, fire-clays, saline deposits, including, it is said, 
nitrate and sulphate of soda, and indications of borax. 

In the Andean region of this province, in a N.W. direction 
from Mendoza, is the voleano of Aconcagua, more than 23,000 
feet above the sea; that of Tupungato, to the S.W.; that of 
Maipu, to 8.S.W. (15,000 feet); and that of Peteroa, S. of the 
Maipu. 

Having thus made the reader acquainted with the locality, 
IT will leave the following extracts from letters to tell the story 
of the disaster :— 

** Menvoza, March 22nd, 1861. 

“ This city was visited by an awful earthquake, at 8°45 Pat. 
_the evening of the 20th inst. In seven or eight seconds 
the whole city and habitations in the vicinity were in ruins, 
beneath which disappeared about two-thirds of the population, 
say 12,000. I assisted to save Don I’. Garfia, who had been 
ten hours buried under ruins, two yards in depth.” 

Another person writes on same date :—*“‘ I have only lost two 
of my children and the nurse. My wife and the rest of the 
family were buried for a time, but we got them out, they are 
much hurt.” 

On the 24th, another letter says:—‘‘ At 845 p.m., the 
Teremoto or severe earthquake took place. In a moment, 
three-fourths of the city was in ruins; the greater portion of 
the inhabitants are victims. The 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, the 
shocks continued at intervals, when the remainder of the houses 
fell. The few inhabitants left alive are doing their best to 
search for and rescue the buried ones, 


a 


The Harthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 87 


*« The earthquake movement came from south and east, and 
was impelled to north and west; these movements continuing 
about five or six seconds. This once smiling city is now level 
with the plain. Although I was wounded by the falling of a 
wall, I exerted myself in the hope of assisting others. I heard 
groans and calling for help from beneath me at every step. 
Some, who appeared to have lost their senses, screamed for their 
fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, children 
and friends. Men, women, and children were dragging at the 
robes of a priest, praying for absolution. I saw heaps of 
mutilated fellow-creatures, I heard their dying and despairing 
groans. 

“In a few days I fear the few who have been spared will 
become victims to the knife of the assassin-robbers. Putrefac- 
tion of the dead bodies has commenced, and we have but little 
food. ; 

“ Just after the great shock, I went to the public walk, where 
I beheld a group praying round a monk, who instead of com- 
forting assured them that flames and burning sulphur would 
soon consume them, beseeching all to repent and pray. This 
was not my opinion; I urged the desponding party to be up and 
doing in aid of those who were buried amongst the ruins. My 
friends P. and C had been buried alive for an hour, 
whilst striving to save a child, and, although separated, could 
converse freely. ‘I fear we are lost,’ said P . ‘I believe 
we are,’ replied C ‘ Had we not better try to sleep, and 
so not feel the agonies of death?’ ‘ Perhaps we had better do 
so. Farewell, farewell! Should you be saved, say to my 
mother that in my last moments I thought of her. I will do 
the same for you, if I am preserved. Farewell!’ ‘ Dear 
friend, I am choking with the dust; more walls are falling on 
us; I am getting squeezed more and more down to the earth. 
Let us alternately cry for help. Hark! I hear footsteps above 
us.’ In truth, B had arrived, and heard the voice of his 
son, CO Digging was commenced; but ere the two 
friends were got at, C had died. Many such scenes 
occurred throughout the ruins. Our friend Urizar was buried 
for ten hours. §S was half an hour below ground; his 
position was discovered by his dog ‘Othello.’ Muioz was 
saved by falling under his horse. We hear from San Juan 
(some 50 leagues to the N. of Mendoza) that the town has 
suffered much; the river there has left its bed, and inundated 
the city. To the 8. and E. the earthquake effects have been 
less. About a*hundred years since Mendoza suffered very 
considerably from an earthquake, which is known as the Tere- 
moto of Santa Rita.” 

Seven or eight months before this present earthquake, at a 


88 The Earthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 


distance of four or five leagues from Mendoza, there were move- 
ments of the land sufficient to displace trees; there were open- 
ings in the ground from which came out sulphurous and saline 
matters. Two nights before the earthquake, at same spot, the 
ground rose and fell. 

The great movements of the earthquake were from 8.W. to 
N.E., and then from N.H. to 8.W., the ground opening in many 
places. It was not preceded by noise or rambling.. The ground 
seemed to rise or swell up. Twelve miles from the city the 
ground opened in a 8.H. and N.W. direction for more than 
three miles in length, and in places two and a half cuadras 
(375 yards) wide, and saline waters were thrown out. On 
the night of the earthquake, shocks occurred at intervals of 
five or six minutes, up to the sixth day. On the eighth day 
they were more frequent, then diminished in number again. 
The shocks were accompanied by sounds like the firmg of 
cannon. Under Mendoza there seems to be a large hollow, 
and people have an idea that there is much water init. It is 
said that a nun was got out alive after eight days’ burial, but 
she died shortly afterwards. 

It was reported that a French watchmaker in. Buenos 
Ayres (which is about 550 geographical miles a little S.H. 
from Mendoza*) observed the pendulum of his clocks much 
affected at about 9 p.m. on the night of the earthquake. 

On the 29th March, 1861, Mr. R. F. Budge, of Valparaiso, 
communicated to the writer of this paper as follows, on the 
subject of the Mendoza earthquake : “I noted in my catalogue 
of earthquakes this one, not from the strength of it here on the 
20th inst., at 8.35+ p.m., but from its duration, which led me 
to believe that we should soon hear of a dreadful catastrophe at 
some distant place in Chile. On the 25th an express arrived’ 
from Mendoza, announcing that it had been totally ruined, 
the great shock having occurred there at 8.45 p.m., lasting 
less than a minute, which was the time I noted here. ‘T'wo 
pendulum clocks, beating N. and 8., stopped.” 

Since March, 1861, occasional shocks have been experi- 
enced at Mendoza. In a Buenos Ayrean paper of January, 
1863, it is stated that Mendoza was lately visited by rather a 
severe series of shocks. The new town, rising out of the ruins 
of 1861, is constructed of wood. 

I will now give the translation of a letter of Don Domingo 
de Oro, which is a very remarkable record of the thoughts and 
feelings of a man buried alive for more than five hours :— 


* Hence it would seem that the undulation took fifteen minutes to travel 550 
geographical miles. 

+ In this instance, 140 geographical miles in ten minutes. In the one case, it 
travelled along the Pampas of Buenos Ayres; in the other, through the Andes. 


The Earthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 89 


eho Masor Bet. RrcKaro, Inspector-General of Mines, etc., etc. 
« Burnos Ayres, December Ey 1862. 

“My dear Sir,—In conformity with my promise, T will try 
to narrate to you my impressions as well as my reflections on 
the subject of the horrible night of the 20th March, 1861, in 
Mendoza. I will do my best to give you an account, in the 
plainest terms possible, of one of the most dreadful occurrences 
on record. 

“Tt was about a quarter to nine at night. I was at the 
house of Don Meliton Arroyo, in an apartment near to the 
street, in company with my relative, Pedro Zavalla. The 
house was in the ‘Calle del Cormercio,’ a cuadra and a half 
(225 varas) from the public promenade. I was standing, and 
about to proceed for my customary evening walk, when there 
was heard a loud cracking in the roof of the house. The 
rumbling sound which generally precedes an earthquake was 
heard in the city, but not by us; still we felt perfectly satisfied 
as to the cause of the creaking in the roof of the house, and 
Zavalla cried out ‘Temblor, or earthquake; ‘and a strong 
one too,’ I exclaimed, running towards the door, so as to get 
into the street; and a few quick steps brought me there, when 
I passed onwards towards the promenade. 

“The upper portion of the house of Arroyo, which was of 
one story, bulged out and fell to the ground to my left, a little 
in advance of me. At this moment I lost the hope of being 
able to arrive at the nearest intersection of the streets, at which 
point I thought to escape and save my life. At times it 
happens that one gives utterance to one’s thoughts, or we 
think aloud; so I went onwards, repeating, ‘it is impossible 
to be saved,’ when, as if to confirm my words, I received a 
violent blow from behind, which struck the upper part of my 
right leg, when I was thrown with my face to the ground, and 
my arms extended. I felt at the same moment that I was 
being covered up with weighty earthy matters, and was 
stretched out on the path. <A second afterwards I heard the 
noise of heavy bodies falling, some of which increased the 
weight of materials above me. Shortly I heard a terrible and 
prolonged noise, one of the effects of a severe earthquake 
shake. 

“T had not lost the use of my senses in any way, but the 
idea rushed upon me that the whole city was in ruins. Although 
the weight above me was very great, and my face forced 
down upon the path, I could breathe sufficiently to prevent 
suffocation. As I felt no acute pain in any part of my body, I 
thought I was not wounded, and that above me the layer of 
ruins might not be very thick, I now tried to move my legs 


90 The Larthquake at Mendoza, 20th Murch, 1861. 


and arms, but this I could not do, for I was part and parcel, as 
it were, of the solid material in which I was buried. I had no 
doubt but that my last hour was near at hand. 

“T now heard a human voice; it was that of my poor friend 
Zavalla, beseeching assistance. He had followed me, and 
had participated in my fate; but he was in’a much more 
lamentable position. I did my best to cry out to him not to 
waste his breath, except when he heard any .one walking 
above him, and then to make all possible offers to any one who 
would assist to extricate him from his living tomb. He re- 
plied to me; and then I heard him at intervals utter uncon- 
nected. words, then inarticulate sounds, by which I supposed he 
must be in the agonies of death, and then followed an eternal 
silence, as far as my poor friend Zavalla was concerned, 

“‘ My reflections now became painful indeed. Subterranean 
noises were heard, and shakings of the earth were felt. Lat. 
times supposed the spot in which I was buried would sink~ 
into an abyss, or that the crater of a volcano would burst out 
there. I knew that in such like earthquakes destructive fires 
were known to break out, and that there might be one near to me; 
that the great acequia, or watercourse, in the public promenade 
might be obstructed by ruins, its waters would run over, and so 
get amongst and under the ruins, in which case I should be 
drowned within my sepulchre. Admitting that nothing of this 
occurred, to whom was I to look for help? My friends m 
Mendoza were few, and some of them, like myself, were doubt- 
less in a similar position; others would have themselves and 
families to look after ; then, in such circumstances would people 
think of their friends before their relatives? if they did, how ~~ 
were they to divine where I was? If people were looking for 
me, how was I to make my position known? for although my 
friend Zavalla had heard my voice, and I had heard his, this 
was no proof that I should be heard through the now increased 
mass of ruins that covered me. It seemed that my salvation 
in this life was impossible, and I resigned myself to the de- 
crees of Providence. Then I wished that the waters would 
come and drown me, so as to shorten the period of my misery ; 
and I even recollected to have read that miserable slaves had 
abridged their lives by swallowing their own tongues, and 
was decided upon attempting it if I found fire or water ap- 
proach me, as this was the only means at my disposal. 

“ Although it was afterwards discovered that I had a broken 
bone, and many wounds, I did not suffer any bodily pain, ex-— 
cepting from the weight of stuff above me, heat, and insufficient 
respiration. I was indeed very sad, but not dejected, and I 
prepared myself to separate from life without becoming des- 
perate. The thought that made me most miserable was the 


- 


The Harthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 91 


probability I should die of starvation, when my life of agony 
would be prolonged. 

“Thus passed two long, long hours. Hope indeed fought 
with my drooping spirit. JI am neither devout, nor am I 
impious. I did not turn to God and beg for a life that ap- 
peared tome to be quite out of the order of nature to grant, 
but I did submit myself to his decrees ; and considering myself 
as a mortal who was going in robust life to the gates of 
eternity, I did all I could to calmly contemplate my frightful 
situation, which I may call that of a living corpse. 

“ After a time I heard a conversation between two men ; 
one said, seeing that it was impossible to advance in that 
direction with a carriage, he would leave it there and take the 
horses away. In a moment it came to my recollection that on 
the previous day I had been taken in a hired vehicle to a 
country house in the vicinity of the city, and I believed the 
voice [ heard was that of the same coachman who drove 
me, which same man had been rather talkative during that ride, 
and that he had indirectly asked my name, and said he believed 
that he had seen me in Copiapo. 

“‘T shouted out as well as I could several times, in the hope 
they would hear me, which they did at last. When they 
replied, I beseeched them to succour me, telling them that 
although I was covered by a great weight of ruins, I was un- 
hurt (which I then believed), and that I should not perish if 
any assistance was afforded me. At once both of them com- 
menced to remove the rubbish that covered me. 

“Lately I was so resigned, and when I had no hope of 
being rescued ; now that it seemed I was about to be saved, I 
felt my spirit sink within me. The companion of the good 
Gonzales (for that was the name of the coachman) begin- 
ning to feel the work severe, or on account of other motives, 
said that he must leave off, but that he would return. Once 
gone, I could not believe he would ever come back; I feared 
Gonzales would follow his example; and as I gave myself 
only five or six hours more life if the weight above me was 
not removed, I now considered I was indeed lost. But Gon- 
zales, as if he had divined my thoughts, called aloud, telling 
me not to despair; that his death alone should prevent him 
leaving his work of disinterring me undone. 

* You know that the houses of Mendoza are built of adobes, 
or sun-dried bricks, and the mortar merely of mud, and not of 
lime, consequently easier to separate than burnt bricks and 
mortar ; so that when the walls fell down, they did so in such 
a manner as rather to favour the removal of the ruins, even by 
the hands alone. My benefactor worked away for more than 
two hours, when he at last touched my head, and in a few 


92 The Earthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 


moments he exclaimed with joy, ‘now take breath.’ I cannot 
describe what feelings of gratitude I had for that generous 
man. He now iried to extricate me, and to put me on my feet. 

“« My legs were swelled in a monstrous manner and covered 
with wounds ; I could not stand, for one had become shorter 
than the other. My hands, face, and head were dreadfully 
bruised. ; 

** Gonzales wished to carry me to the public walk, but this 
he found impossible to do; so he proposed to transport me from 
where I was, which spot was full of deep inequalities, caused 
by his throwing up the ruins to get me out, but this he failed 
in, for where I lay I was still in peril in consequence of a ruimed 
wall which threatened to fall with the continued earthquake 
movements of the earth. Gonzales at this juncture did not 
even know the fate of his own family, and had to leave me. 

“There I was alone and unable to move. I took a glance at 


the scene around; how frightful it was! how horrible! The moon » 


still shone on that huge heap of ruins, a few hours before a city 
of life and joy. At the distance of five or six yards from me 
there escaped dying groans from some ruins, which appeared to 
me to be those of Cesar Solar, his wife and little daughter. 
Farther off I heard screams and cries which went to the heart, 
begging for assistance ; these were from Teresa Garcia, whom 
I afterwards saw attending the sick and wounded. Fire had 
broken out not far from me, and was advancing towards the 
direction I was laying ; but, thanks to kind Providence, I was 
not unnerved. There were many who were actively engaged 
in assisting and rescuing their fellow-creatures ; but there were 
others plundering, whatever they could lay hands on, during 
this awful convulsion of nature. Nicolas Villanueva passed 
hurriedly by in search of help to assist him to rescue his large 
family, whom I could hear from under the ruins, recommending 
themselves to God’s mercy, and preparing themselves to die ; 
the fire had now reached some combustible matters, and all 
around was ina blaze. There now came up to me Seiior Arroyo, 
who told me with broken heart, ejaculating, that he had lost six 
of his children; still he went searching for his unfortunate 
friend Zavalla, in which search he rescued a poor maniac woman 
who was buried near to me. 

“ But how am I to relate to you all the frightful scenes I 
saw on that awful night ? 

“'T'o those who passed, whom I thought able to move me, 


and would do so for money, I offered gold to carry me to the 


public promenade, which was only two hundred and fifty yards 
distant ; but no one gave heed tome. Larly in the morning 
Ramon Mujioz, a Chileno political emigrant, mercifully came to 
my assistance with a party of men, and transported me to the 


4 


- 


The Harthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 93 


promenade, where I was placed among dead, dying, and many 
who were sadly wounded. 

““My clothes had been torn to pieces, my hat lost, and the early 
morn was cold. Luis Marco gave me a dressing-gown, and in 
this state I remained until the evening, when I was seen by 
Mr. Bergman, a surveyor, who had lost his wife and all his chil- 
dren except one; he proposed to remove me to a less disagree- 
able spot, where I found Mr. Civit with a broken foot, others 
wounded, some ladies who had lost their families ; from these I 
received whatever assistance they could render me. I must not 
omit to particularize the name of a young Chileno, Sefior Vieites. 

“ Four days I remained with this party in affliction. Up 
to this period such charity and kindness as could be proffered 
I received, when Don Tomas Garcia of Mendoza discovered me. 
We had known each other in Chile, and were friends, without 
being very intimate. Not only his house in the city, but one 
in the country, were destroyed on the night of the 20th of 
March. He had lost three of his children in the earthquake ; 
the remaining three had been saved through the exertions of 
his beloved wife—he himself most miraculously ; he had already. 
built up a hut. 

“* However, under such appalling domestic affliction, he did 
not forget the suffermgs of others. He had sought for me for 
three days, although he had been assured that I had perished. 
He had me borne with the tenderest care to his newly-erected 
hut. His good wife had prepared for me a tent out of pieces of 
cloth and carpet, and where I felt that Garcia and his ministering 
angel of a wife would take care of me. 

** Her necessary household affairs were not forgotten ; these 
being finished, she would retire for a while to pray and weep 
for her lost little ones, then she became a true sister of charity ; 
never can I forget her and all her pious doings. She bathed 
and dressed my wounds; she gave me medicine to assuage 
my pains, and helped me to the food I required, with such per- 
suasive gentleness, only to be done by tender-hearted woman ; 
she was the personification of human goodness. I would at 
times call for a servant to assist me, but ere one could arrive 
she was at my side, night or day, ready to attend to me. 

“Very shortly after the arrival of Dr. Day, Garcia brought 
him to me ; and now the medical man took charge of my cure. 
Through the unremitting kindness of Garcia and his wife, and 
that of Dr. Day, after a period of twenty-three days, I could lay 
myself down; but it was three months ere I could go upon 
crutches, when I journeyed to San Juan. 

“Years had passed that I had not shed a tear; the destruc- 
tion of the city of Mendoza, and even whilst in the frightful 
position of beg buried alive, no tear dimmed my eye ; but the 


94 The Karthquake at Mendoza, 20th March, 1861. 


day of separation from Garcia and his wife came, my heart 
was now moved. Still I kept a serene look; the moment for 
saying farewell arrived; I saw them in tears—speak they could 
not—but ejaculated their prayers for my restoration to health. 
I now felt most acutely, my heart beat rapidly; I was tongue- 
tied, but a flood of tears came to my relief. We embraced 
each other; I covered my face, and was glad indeed when the 
carrlage was announced to convey me to San Juan. 

“The spectacle of domestic life, and the love I observed in 
the family of Garcia, made me a better man; there I saw an 
example of real felicity only to be obtained by the practice of 
virtue, and I could not now believe that these were so excep- 
tional as I had formerly considered. Can I ever forget Garcia, 
his wife, and the coachman Gonzales ? 

“To conclude: if there were fiends in human form, and 


who committed the most atrocious acts of rapine during and. 


after the calamitous earthquake, there were also examples of 
heroism and goodness. A young lady who had been exhumed 
from the ruins, and only had her under-garment on, the moment 
she found herself preserved, began to work at once in the 
liberation of others, continuing it all that very cold night, and 
so scantily clothed. A poor woman (not a model of virtue) who 
escaped death most miraculously, and badly wounded, worked 
incessantly during that night of horrors, and saved at least five 
fellow-creatures from amongst the ruins. A good man whose 
habitation was without the city, but was in Mendoza when the 
earthquake came on, remained all night succouring the dis- 
tressed, assisting to save many from an untimely grave ; pro- 
posing to himself that having disinterred the one he was at 
work at, he would go and look after his own family; which, 
‘being done, another and another scene of distress met his sight, 
to which he went. Kind Providence rewarded him, for at day- 
break when he got to his own house, although he found it in 
ruins, his family was safe, but weeping for him, supposing that 
by his not returning during the night that he had been buried 
in the ruins. 
“Your faithful Friend and Servant, 
(Signed) **Dominao pp Oro.” 


— 


The Midnight Sun. 95 


THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 
BY THOMAS W. BURR, F.R.A.S., F.C.S. 


Tue December number of the IntELtuctuan OBsERvER contains 
a notice of a very interesting work, entitled A Spring and 
Summer in Lapland, by an ‘‘ Old Bushman,” which the re- 
viewer introduces by some remarks on the influence over the 
imagination of those regions of the earth which lie sufficiently 
near the North Pole to exhibit the remarkable summer phe- 
nomenon of an unsetting sun; and proceeds to quote Long- 
fellow’s spirited lines, describing the effect on the “ Ancient 
Mariner ” who discovered the North Cape, in which lines— 
* And southward through the haze, 
He saw the sullen blaze 
Of the red midnight sun,” 

we shall presently see there is an astronomical blunder. The 
book of the “Old Bushman,” which is replete with the most 
interesting information in Natural History, also contains 
a vivid description of this singular appearance, and these 
notices have produced a shower of communications to the 
INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER asking an explanation, ‘‘ how the sun 
can be seen at midnight?” Such inquiries are principally, as 
may be imagined, from the more juvenile readers, and in conse- 
quence of their number, the conductors of this journal, with 
their usual readiness to gratify laudable curiosity, and impart 
useful information, have requested me to give, as briefly and 
simply as possible, the reasons of the phenomenon and the ex- 
planation of the effects produced, which, it is trusted, will at 
once clear the path for the younger portion of my readers, and 
may also not be unacceptable to some “children of a larger 
growth,” whose astronomy has become a little rusty. 

The effect in question, it is obvious, mvolves a consideration 
of the causes both of the seasons and of the various lengths of 
day and night, and these are due to two peculiarities of the 
earth as a planet, viz., the obliquity of the equator and ecliptic, 
and the parallelism of the earth’s axis. 

Every one knows that the earth revolves round the sun in 
the period we call a year, and that it rotates on its axis in the 
time we call a day, including periods of light and darkness, 
which, except on two days in the year, are unequal in all parts 
of the earth except at the equator—the days being long and 
the nights short in summer, and the days short and nights long 
in winter, at each particular place. The two periods when the 
days and nights are equal all over the world, consisting of 
twelve hours each, are called the equinoxes, and occur about 
21st March and 21st September, and were the orbit of the 


96 The Midnight Sun. 


earth coincident in level with the position of the sun, or, 
speaking astronomically, were the equator and ecliptic in the 
same plane, and were the axis of the earth perpendicular to 
the orbit, the phenomena of the equinoxes would be those of the 
whole year, and the temperature of each place, and the length 
of day and night, would always be those which it has at the 
dates just given. But neither of these conditions exists, the 
planes of the equator and ecliptic (or path of the earth round 
the sun, forming the sun’s apparent path in the heavens) are 
not coincident, but inclined at an angle of 232 degs., and the 
axis of the earth is therefore tilted out of the perpendicular to 
its orbit to the same amount. ‘This axis also in its revolution 
round the sun is invariably directed to the same point, in the 
heavens, called the Pole, which is easily distinguished by the 
well-known Pole Star,* and this constant direction of the 
axis causes an unequal exposure to the light and heat of the 
sun during different lengths of the day, and the obliquity of. 
the ecliptic also causing the solar rays to fall with very different 
degrees of verticality on the earth at different times, produce 
the charming variety of the seasons. ‘To show the importance 
of these arrangements, let us suppose the axis of the earth had 
not been inclined to that of its orbit, and mark the conse- 
quences. Under this condition every portion of the earth 
during the year would have the duration of the days and 
nights equal. The sun’s rays, falling perpendicularly, would 
burn up the regions near the equator, and render them unin- 
habitable. The countries situated between the equator and 
high latitudes would have the temperature of a mild spring, 
which would be continuous, and they would be deprived of the 
beautiful changes of climate we enjoy ; while few, if any, plants 
would attain maturity, rendering the existence of animals a 
precarious and doubtful matter. But the condition of the 
regions at a considerable distance from the equator or near the 
poles, would be very dismal; an eternal winter and continual 
desolation would prevail in countries where millions of human 
beings now live happily. Still worse would be the result of 
the earth’s axis being placed parallel to the ecliptic—sharp 
alternations of day and night, heat and cold for six months at 
the time, would be the unpleasant fate of each hemisphere 
under this state of things. 

Happily for us, the axis is inclined, and has the constant 
direction before mentioned ; and to get an idea of the result, 
let me ask my young friends to take an orange, as an easily 
obtained miniature of our globe, and passing a long needle or 

* The minute variation in this direction, due to precession, is of no conse- 

uence as connected with the seasons, and does not interfere with this explanation. 

See the author’s paper on the Precession of the Equinoxes in the InrELLEoTUAL 
OxnsERVER of June, 1863. 


The Midnight Sun. 97 


wire through its flattened poles, carry it steadily round a candle 
or lamp placed in the centre of a table, taking care to slant 
the wire about a fourth of the distance from the table to the 
ceiling, and always keeping the point in the same direction. 
At one part of the revolution the orange should be lifted a little 
above the level of the flame, and at the opposite point a little 
depressed. At the two opposite intermediate points only 
should the orange and flame be in the same plane. If we now 
examine the effects of the light upon the orange in its revolu- 
tion, we shall get an exact representation of the sun’s effect upon 
the earth, and to show this accurately, let us notice particularly 
four different positionsin detail. First, if the orange be in one 
of the positions level with the flame, it will correspond with 
the earth in the northern spring, when the sun is exactly at the 
same distance from both poles, and affects each hemisphere 
alike—this being about the 21st of March; by the 23rd of June 
the earth (or orange) will have moved to the point in its orbit 
most depressed below the level of the sun (or flame), and the 
north pole is then nearer to the sun than the south, and the 
northern hemisphere receives a greater amount of heat than 
is received by the southern—constituting the northern summer. 
If we note carefully the rays of light fallmg on the orange, it 
will be seen that in this position they extend over and beyond 
the north pole, while the south pole remains altogether unen- 
lightened, so that, notwithstanding the rotation of the earth 
on its axis, the day will be continuous at and near the 
north pole, while it will be constant night in the opposite 
regions of the south. 

Proceeding with the illustration we arrive at another of the 
equinoctial positions, corresponding to the northern autumn, 
on the 21st of September, when the hemispheres are again 
equally lighted, and the day and night again equal. Lastly, 
from the 21st of September to the 21st of December, the 
earth progresses to her position above the plane of the sun, and 
the orange will then be above the level of the flame. Here 
the north pole is turned away from the sun, while the south 
pole inclines towards it; hence the northern pole and hemi- 
Sphere receive a much smaller portion of light and heat than 
the southern, and it is therefore to us winter, while the south 
is enjoying its sammer. It is a singular circumstance, that in 
consequence of the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit, we are 
really nearer to the sun in our northern winter than in the 
summer, by about three millions of miles; but this is so small 
a space in proportion to the whole distance of the earth from 
the sun, and its consequences are so far outweighed by the 
more important results of long days and short nights, with 
greater verticality of rays, that its effect is immaterial. 


98 The Midnight Sun. 


It is, however, necessary, with reference to our especial 
object of explaining the Midnight Sun, to go into further detail 
of the unequal days and nights of different latitudes, and as some 
little difficulty may arise from the apparent motion of the sun in 
altitude, due to the earth’s rising and sinking above his position, 
it may be desirable first to consider the apparent paths of the 
stars as caused by the earth’s rotation on its axis, these bodies, 
from their distance, being free from the effect produced upon 
the sun’s meridian altitude by the obliquity of the equator and 
ecliptic, and therefore not altering their declination or distance 
north or south from the equator. Some simple diagrams will 
enable us to do this most effectually. In Fig. 1 the appearance 
of the heavens, as seen by an 
. inhabitant of the earth at the 
equator, is indicated. In this 
and the two following figures 
the letters of reference are, — 
the same, H R being the ob- 
server’s horizon; Nand § the 
north and south poles of the 
earth; H Q, its equator; Z 
and Na, the zenith and nadir 
of a place. The diagram then 
shows that a place on the 
equator will have the poles in 
its horizon, and that all the 
: celestial bodies will rise and 
set at right angles to the horizon, and will continue just as 
long a time above it as they do below. The dotted lines re- 
present the paths of stars or the sun, and as the rotation of 
the earth on its axis is uniform in rate, the semicircle above, 
will be described in the same 
time as the one below, and this 
being twelve hours each, the 
days and nights will be equal 
throughout the year. The ob- 
server will also see the whole 
of the stars in the heavens, 
which he can do nowhere else, 
although some will be in 
very unfavourable positions. 
Passing to Fig. 2, a very 
different state of things is 
presented toview. Here the 
north pole is in the zenith, 
and the equator (or equinoc- ‘Fig. 2. 
tial, as the circle in the heavens answering to the 


“=e —=3ie-=-__ NV 


| 


ae 


The Midnight Sun. 99 


earth’s equator, is termed) forms the horizon. The hea- 
venly bodies, such as those stars which are visible at all, 
never rise or set, but may be observed during the whole 
of their apparent revolution, caused by the real rotation of 
the earth on its axis, their distance from the horizon never 
varying, and their motion being in circles parallel to the hori- 
zon. Stars below the equator, that is, all the stars of the 
southern half of the celestial vault, are never visible, while 
those in the northern half never disappear. The sun, for six 
months in the year, when his position is below the equator, or 
he has south declination, never rises above the horizon ; while 
during the other six months, having north declination, he 
neyer sets, but moves round ina series of circles nearly parallel 
to the horizon, or, strictly speaking, in a spiral, first ascending, 
till on the longest day he attains an altitude of 234 degs.; and 
then descending, till lost to view about the 21st of September. 
If the observer depart from either the pole or the equator, in 
the first case the pole will sink from its position over his head ; 
and in the latter, the pole towards which he is travelling will 
rise. Wherever he may stop, the pole will be the same number | 
of degrees above the horizon as the observer must use to ex- 
press his latitude. To illustrate such a position Fig. 3 is 
drawn. The diagram repre- Z 

sents the north pole elevated 
60 degs. above the horizon, 
showing that to bethe northern 
latitude of the place, and 
here, or indeed at any other 
latitude, except 0 degs. and 
90 degs., all the heavenly 
bodies rise and set obliquely, 
their diurnal paths making 
with the horizon angles equal 
to the co-latitude, that is, the 
difference between the latitude 
‘and 90 degs. ; in this case the 
co-latitude equals 30 degs. Fig. 3. 

A heavenly body on the equator will have its diurnal path half 
above and half below the horizon, and if the body so situated 
be the sun, the days and nights will be equal to that place. 
Those bodies to the south of the equator will, in the latitude of 
the figure, have the greater part of their diurnal path below 
the horizon, and the smaller part above, as shown atI; on the 
contrary, those to the north of the equator have the greater 
part of their daily path above the horizon, and the smaller 
below, as at IJ. Now the sun varies his distance from the 
equator, ranging about 233 degs. on either side of it. When 

VOL. ¥.—-NO. II. I 


100 The Midnight Sun. 


north of the equator the days will be more than twelve hours 
long, to an observer at 60 degs. north latitude; and when 
south of that circle they will be less than twelve hours. There 
is a circle, III, representing the path of a star which never 
descends below the horizon. Thus, at London, there are 
certain constellations, such as the Great Bear, Draco, Cas- 
siopea, Cepheus, the Little Bear, Perseus, and others, which 
never set, and which are visible on every fine night. throughout 
the year, performing their incessant revolutions round the 
north Pole Star asacentre. Such stars are called circumpolar, 
and all stars whose distance from the pole is less than the 
latitude of the place will be circumpolar there. Of such 
stars at London, Capella and those of the Great Bear form 
conspicuous examples, being always above the horizon, though 
of course requiring instrumental aid to be seen in that part of 
their diurnal path which is performed in daylight. Within the. 
same distance from the depressed southern pole, will be found’ 
a number of constellations, the stars of which never rise to our 
observer at 60 degs. north latitude ; an example is seen in the 
fivure at IV, and many of the southern constellations are so 
situated with respect to us. I have been thus minute in 
describing the apparent paths of stars at different latitudes, 
because the explanation of the Midnight Sun depends upon 
the fact, that within the Arctic circle, that is, at a less distance 
than 234 degs. from the pole, the sun becomes at midsummer 
circumpolar, like the stars we have so called, and while ata 
latitude of 663 degs., where the circle is drawn, this happens 
only on the longest day.; as we proceed nearer to the pole, his 
path becomes more parallel to the horizon, and he continues 
circumpolar for a longer period. ‘The sun, in fact, seems to go 
round the earth in a ring, inclined to the horizon, having his 
greatest altitude, due south, at twelve o’clock in the day (which 
in Lapland would be about 47 degs.), and his lowest point just 
touching the northern horizon at twelve o’clock at night. Fur- 
ther north, the southern altitude would become less, and the 
northern greater ; till near the pole the circle would be nearly 
parallel with the horizon, and could we reach the pole, entirely 
so. Thus, the “Old Bushman,” whose quarters were at 
Quickiock, only just within the circle, although for about a 
month at midsummer he could always see the rays of the sun 
reflected on the northerly fells at midnight, and, in fact, for 
two months had the night as light as day, for reading, hunting, 
and shooting—had to ascend “ Porti Fellen,” about 5000 feet 
high, on June 24th, at midnight, to see the sun himself; but 
had he gone further north, even to the North Cape, as many 
travellers do, no ascent would have been necessary. It may 
here be remarked that Lapland is the only place which is 


The Midnight Sun. 101 


readily accessible by Huropeans desirous of witnessing the 
glorious spectacle of the unsetting sun. It is also a most in- 
teresting country on other accounts. Despite its northern 
position, corn still grows in latitudes which elsewhere are 
sterile, for which it is indebted to the Gulf Stream impinging 
on the coast of Norway; while the luxuriance of its flora, 
during the short but brilliant summer, and the profusion of 
animal life peopling the magnificent scenery, render it well 
worthy a visit, and a trip to Norway is now becoming compara- 
tively frequent. To all such intending tourists a perusal of the 
Spring and Summer in Lapland will be most essential, con- 
taining, as it does, full information for reaching either Hammer- 
fest, near the North Cape, or Happaranda, at the head of the 
Gulf of Bothnia, in the best manner; while in a natural 
history point of view the book is invaluable. 

To illustrate still more clearly the effect of increased latitude 
im producing continuous daylight, it will be desirable to intro- 
duce a few more diagrams. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 have the 
same letters of reference. Fig. 4 explains the long days 


and short 
FIG: 4. S nights of 
pee: tx the north- 


o£ ern sum- 
eae mer (the 
sun about 

the 21st of 

June being 

over the 

Tropic of 

Cancer, 

and there- 

fore at its 

S greatest 

northern declination), and, at the same time, the short days 
and long nights of corresponding southern latitudes. N S is 
the axis of the earth; H Q,: the equator; H C, the ecliptic; 
C Rand CN, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn ; and T’rR, 
the line separating light and darkness, or the real horizon. At 
the central line of the globe, on the side turned towards the sun, 
it is mid-day; at the terminator, or line of shading, it is, on 
one side of the globe, sunrise; and on the other, sunset; while 
on the central line of the side in shade, it is midnight. At N, 
and the adjacent parts down to the Arctic circle, no portion of 
the globe will be carried by the diurnal rotation into darkness, 
and there is, therefore, continual daylight. At the Tropic of 
Cancer places are carried through unequal portions of the light 
and shaded parts, and there are long days and short nights. 


sf 


102 The Midnight Sun. 


At the equator the light and shaded parts are of equal extent, 
and the days and nights are equal, as is always the case there. 
At the Tropic of Capricorn, the light. and shaded portions are 
unequal, but inversely to the Tropic of Cancer, and there are 
short days and long nights. At S, and adjacent to it, so far 
as the Antarctic circle, the earth’s rotation produces no emer- 
gence out of the shaded part, and the night is therefore 
continuous. 


Fig. 5 represents the effect of the sun being over the 
equator, as he is in March and September, instead of over the 
Tropic of Cancer ; the days and nights are then equal all over 
the world—the axial rotation exposing every part of the 
earth’s surface to the same amount of light and darkness. 


FI: 6. 


| 


| 


“~ 
~ 
Pra 


i, 
. 
“~ 


“ss, 
<< 
. 
ss, 
~ 
“. 
~ 
~ 
-, 


Fig. 6 shows the sun over the Tropic of Capricorn, as he is 
on the 21st of December, having the greatest south declination 
he attains, and explains the southern summer, and the short days 


and long nights of our winter. Here no portion of the surface — 


included in the Antarctic circle can escape from the sun’s light, 
and the phenomenon of the sun continually above the horizon 
will be witnessed by any person reaching a high southernlatitude, 
as well as in the north, which has hitherto claimed our attention. 


The Midnight Sun. 103 


Let us sum up the teaching of these diagrams. To all 
places at the equator the days and nights are always of equal 
length. ‘To all other places, except the poles, the days and 
nights are never equal, except atthe equinoxes. ‘To all parts of 
the world the days and nights are equal at the vernal and 
autumnal equinoxes, about the 21st of March and 23rd of 
September, when the sun enters the signs Aries and Libra, 
and has no declination. 

To all places having the same latitude, the days and nights 
are always of equal length at the same particular time of year. 

To all places north of the equator, the longest day and the 
shortest night are when the sun has his greatest north decli- 
nation, and is on the Tropic of Cancer ; and their shortest day 
and longest night when the sun has his greatest south declina- 
tion, or is on the Tropic of Capricorn. In southern latitudes 
the reverse is the case. 

To all places at the Arctic and Antarctic circles, when the 
sun has his greatest declination, he appears without setting for 
twenty-four hours, the length of their longest day, although the 
continuous daylight may last for weeks, as the sun sinks so . 
little below the horizon that the twilight is sufficient for all 
purposes throughout the night. To all places within those circles 
the length of the longest days and nights increases the nearer 
the places are to the poles. 

At the north pole, from the 20th of March to the 23rd of 
September, the sun is constantly above the horizon, and below 
it through the opposite interval. There is, therefore, during 
the whole year, but one day and one night, each of six months 
duration ; but no one has yet reached the pole to experience 
this effect. In speaking of the long and dreary winter night, 
lasting for many months, which these illustrations show to be 
the lot of polar regions, we should not lose sight of the com- 
pensating influences. ‘Thus, although the sun may be for months 
below the horizon, still he is rarely as much as 18 degs. lower 
than that circle, and therefore, owing to the existence of an 
atmosphere and its property of refraction, the amount of twi- 
light is very considerable; and if we remember how strong 
this is during our summer, when for one month before and 
one after the longest day, we are said to have “no real night,” 
the importance of this beneficial arrangement becomes mani- 
fest.* Again, the full moon is always opposite to the sun, and 


* As far as 843 degs. north latitude, the sun approaches within 18 degs. of 
the horizon at mid-winter, and therefore relieves the long night of three or four 
months, every twenty-four hours, with a short twilight. ven at the North Pole 
the sun isnot more than 18 degs. below the horizon, till November 12th, and 
comes within that distance again on January 29th; the 78 days between being 
the only period of total night. From September 21st to November 12th, and 
from January 29th to March 21st, although the sun is absent, there is twilight. 


104 The Midnight Sun. 


as the sun is below the horizon, the moon will be for a con- 
siderable period in each month, and that before and after the 
full, when her light is greatest, always shining, only sinking 
below the horizon when in the crescent form, and giving little 
light. Added to these constant phenomena are the brilliant 
displays of Aurora, common to such latitudes,-and the beauty 
of the icy scenery, and we may yet understand that even in 
these regions there is an amount of physical and intellectual 
enjoyment to be derived from the bounty of the Creator, who 
has left no district without its charms. 

Such are the astronomical causes of the Midnight Sun. 
They may be condensed into the statement, that within the 
polar circles the sun becomes circumpolar, for a period in- 
creasing with the latitude; and if we pay attention to the 
constellations, which are so situated with respect to ourselves 
as to be circumpolar, and also watch how very near the sun 
sets to the north point of the horizon, on its western side, at. 
midsummer, and how, in a few hours, he rises again close to 
the north, on the eastern side, having, as it were, only just 
dipped out of sight—we shall readily undertand how a journey 
of a few hundred miles further north may bring us to a posi- 
tion, where, having reached the lowest part of his apparent 
daily path, he begins to ascend without ever having been lost 
to the gaze of the observer. The only difference between the 
sun and stars is, that they have always the same declination, 
and if circumpolar at a place at all, are always so; but the sun 
ranges from 235 degs. south, to 232 degs. north; and it is 
only when haying north declination that he can be cireumpolar 
to any part of the northern hemisphere, and vice versa. 

Of the actual appearance of the Midnight Sun it is hardly 
necessary to speak here. All my readers have seen, or will see 
descriptions of the effect in the books of northern travel they 
may come across, and these accounts vary with the tempera- 
ment of the traveller. LHven fiction has borrowed the pheno- 
menon for an incident. The charming Swedish novelist, 
Frederika Bremer, in her tale of The Midnight Sun, takes 
her characters on a pilgrimage to the mountain of Avisaxa, in 
Lapland, to behold the glorious sight, which is not, however, 
described in detail, the authoress being more occupied with the 
emotions of her ideal personages than with the aspect of Nature, 
although the beauty of the scene is there indicated by a few 
graphic touches. Our ‘ Old Bushman,” in his Spring and 
Summer in Lapland, after indulging in the poetical reflections 
called up by the glorious scene, says :— In the north-east, 
where the fells were lower, the sun shone out of an unclouded 
sky, apparently about a foot from the horizon’s edge—an angry, 
sullen, lurid globe of fire, without appearing to emit a single ray 


‘The Midnight Sun. | 105 


of heat, for we could stare him in the face without winking. He 
appeared to me to go down about due north, and, without rising 
or sinking,* for nearly an hour, to travel eastwards, when he 
gradually rose and assumed his wonted splendour.” We thus 
see that Longfellow is in error when he represents a person 
looking “ southward’ for the Midnight Sun, as both theory 
and observation show it is seen in the north. 

The author continues, in language which is worth quoting :— 
“Never did I feel my own insignificance so much as 
when I descended the fell, and left this grand scene behind 
me. Place man in cities among his finest works of art, among 
his manufactories and machinery; bid him jostle his way 
through the human crowd among whom he lives, and his lip 
may curl with pride and self-satisfaction as he gazes triumph- 
antly on some master-stroke of ingenuity, or chuckles at the 
success of some mighty speculation. It is then that he rises, 
as it were, in his own estimation, superior to his fellow man, 
and for the moment seems almost to forget that he is mortal. 
But place such an one in a scene like this at the hour of mid- 
night, and let him see if his self-pride will not receive a check ! 
He will now be able to compare the most stupendous works of — 
his hands with the works of Nature, and then let him strike a 
balance. His choicest works of art can scarcely vie in beauty 
with the meanest wild flower he heedlessly crushes under foot, 
and as for his boasted superiority over his fellow man, why, in 
this rude spot the little untaught Laplander is worth a dozen of 
him.” 

Perhaps one of the most unlikely places to expect the Mid- 
night Sun to make its appearance would seem to be the pages 
of Thomas Carlyle, but, strangely enough, in Sartor Resartus 
he conducts his clothes philosopher, Teuflesdrockh, to the soli- 
tude of the North Cape, on a June midnight, and writes (with 
which we must conclude) thus :—“‘ Silence as of death—for 
midnight, even in the Arctic latitudes, has its character: 
nothing but the granite cliffs ruddy-tinged; the peaceful 
egurgle of that slow, heaving polar ocean, over which, in the 
utmost north, the great sun hangs low and lazy, as if he, too, 
were slumbering. Yet is his cloud couch wrought of crimson 
and cloth of gold; yet does his light stream over the mirror of 
waters like a tremulous fire pillar, skirting downwards to the 
abyss, and hide itself under my feet. In such moments, solitude 


* This is probably due to the effect of refraction, which, as the sun approached 
the dense lower strata of the atmosphere near the horizon, would tend to raise his 
disc very considerably, and the lower part to a greater extent than the upper. 
For an explanation of refraction, and any other technical astronomical terms used 
in this paper, the reader may consult the article on Precession previously 
referred to. 


106 Mosses—Grimmia and Schistidiwm. 


also is invaluable ; for who would speak, or be looked on, 
when behind him hes all Europe and Africa, fast asleep, except 
the watchmen; and before him, the silent immensity, and 


Palace of the Eternal, whereof our sun is but a porch lamp!” 


MOSSES—GRIMMIA AND SCHISTIDIUM. 
BY M. G@. CAMPBELL. 


Waitt the “ Fair Maids of February,”* the “ admired of all 
beholders,”’ tremble on our hedge-banks, and hang their modest 
heads, as if anxious to shun the gaze they cannot but attract, 
the elegant Grimmia orbicularis, or round-fruited Grimmia, 
still more worthy of regard, may be found, albeit all unnoted, 
spreading its dense tufts upon calcareous rocks, sometimes, 
mixed with its cousin of more common occurrence, Grimmia 
pulvinata, or the grey-cushioned Grimmia; and sometimes in 
compact family groups, braving alone the storms of its 
weather-beaten home. 

The genus named in honour of Grimm, a German botanist, 
consists of perennial mosses, allied at once to Schistidiwm and 
to Racomitrium. They grow upon rocks and walls, some- 
times in compact tufts, sometimes loosely, and irregularly 
ceespitose, with capsules which vary much both in form and 
position, being in some species immersed and shortly pedi- 
cellate, in others, excerted, erect, cernuous, or pendulous, on 
a straight or on a curved pedicel, solitary, and with a mitriform 
calyptra reaching below the lid; sometimes five lobed at the 
base ; sometimes dimidiate, or cloven on one side. The inflo-. 
rescence is monoicous or dioicous; at first both flowers are 
terminal, but at length, by growth of the stem, the chia 55 
barren flower becomes lateral. 

The leaves are semi-amplexical and imbricated at the base, 
while they spread in the upper parts, and generally terminate 
in a longer or shorter semi-transparent white hair-point, 
usually denticulate ; the upper leaves largest and tufted at the 
summit of the stem. The peristome consists of sixteen rather 
large lanceolate teeth, convex externally, and trabeculated ; 
bitrifid, spreading, or sub-erect when dry; either purplish, 
pale red, or yellowish brown, and slightly hygroscopic. ‘The 
columella instead of being deciduous and falling off with the 
lid, as it does in Schistidiwm, shrinks up into, and remains in, 
the ripe capsule, a circumstance which forms the chief 
difference between Grimmia and Schistidiwm ; the latter might 
therefore be classed as a sub-genus of Grimmia, with a 

* The Snowdrop— Galanthus nivalis. 


Mosses—Grimmia and Schistidium. 107 


columella adhering to the lid, and all its capsules sub-sessile and 
immersed. 

Grimmia orbicularis, of which we give a magnified illus- 
tration, with stem leaves very highly magnified, grows on 
calcareous rocks, with densely tufted stems, and crowded 
oblong - lanceolate 
leaves, having long 
diaphanous points, 
and small dot-like 
cellules, in straight 
longitudinal lines. 
These cellules are, 
however, enlarged 
towards the basal 
margins, and as 
they descend the 
stem the leaves are 
less crowded, di- 
i: minish in size, be- 

Grimmia orbicularis. come destitute of. 
the bristle, and are even somewhat obtuse pointed. 

The capsule is roundish, ona pale yellow curved fruit-stalk ; 
the capsule itself as it ripens passes from pale yellow to bright 
red, is smooth and glassy while recent, but obscurely striated 
or ribbed when dry; the walls of a rather thin or semi-opaque 
texture, with a narrow annulus and avery short mammillate, 
but never rostellate lid. The teeth of the peristome rather 
short and broad, trifid, sometimes quadrifid at the apex, semi- 
opaque, of a pale red, rather distantly marked externally with 
transverse bars, and much perforated or crib-rose towards the 
base; they are erect or converging when dry. The calyptra 
is dimidiate and soon falls away. 

Though Grimmia orbicularis ripens its fruit at an earlier 
period, it sometimes, as we have before said, grows intermixed 
in the same tuft with a more common species, Grimmia pulvi- 
nata, or the grey-cushioned Grimmia, which is commonly found 
on walls and roofs, as well as upon rocks; it, too, grows in 
densely tufted round patches, with branching stems, from half 
an inch to aninch in height, and with leaves very much resem- 
bling those of the preceding species, being elliptic-lanceolate, 
suddenly attenuated and piliferous, terminating in long white 
hair-points, but the leaf is broader than in orbicwlaris ; cari- 
nate, with a somewhat stronger nerve, which vanishes below 
the hair-points, and though both are hoary from their white 
terminal points, the foliage of pulvinata is of a more yellowish 
green; that of orbicularis has a bluer hue, and more dingy 
appearance. 


108 Mosses—Grimmia and Schistidiwm. 


But however the naked eye may be deceived, placed under 
the microscope the fruit at once reveals the species. The 
capsule of G. pulvinata is less round, and instead of the bright 
red, has a dull reddish-brown colour, with rather thick and 
opaque walls, eight ribbed when dry, a lid conical below, but 
with a straight beak about half as long as the capsule. The 
calyptra not dimidiate, or splitting one side, but about five- 
lobed at the base, and the annulus broader and compound, but 
quickly unrolled after the fall of the lid. The teeth of the 
peristome are lanceolate, deep purplish red, more or less 
spreading when dry, and, as in orbicularis, often cloven at the 
apex, which circumstance at one time occasioned its being 
confounded with the Dicranums. 

The fruit of G. pulvinata is drooping, forming as it were 
the tasselled point of a little- hook reversed, which the seta 
greatly resembles ; or perhaps it were better to liken it to the. 
curve at the upper end of a shepherd’s crook; and it is — 
usually concealed by the leaves when growing; it ripens in 
March and April. 

A variety of this moss, termed obtusa, has been found on 
St. Vincent rocks, near Bristol, and on Conway Castle rock, 
haying shorter stems, a shorter capsule on a shorter pedicel, 
teeth of the peristome shorter, and a sharp conical lid, obtuse, 
or mammillated. ; 

Grimmia spiralis, or the spiral-leaved Grimmia, has also 
lanceolate leaves, tapering into long diaphanous hair-points, 
but it cannot be confounded with either of those mentioned 
from its slender, almost filiform stem, and its leaves being 
spirally imbricated or contorted round the stem when in a dry 
state. 

It grows on dry exposed Alpine rocks ; has been found on’ 
the east side of Slemish mountain, county Antrim, Ireland; ~ 
on Ben Lawers, and other mountains in Breadalbane; on the 
Grampian mountains, and on Snowdon. Upon its native rocks 
it forms large dense tufts, which, however, readily fall asunder 
when torn from them; of somewhat fragile texture, it reaches 
from half an inch to one inch and a half in height, the stem . 
more or less branched, and not unfrequently proliferous, with 
lateral flagelliform shoots. The upper leaves and the peri- 
chetium alone terminate in hair points; those of the stem are 
slightly spreading, incurved above the middle, and are some- 
what recurved in the margin; the perichetial leaves longer, 
broader, and concave. 

The capsule is small, of a pale, reddish brown, ovate or 
obovate in form, and having eight furrows in the dry state; 
less marked, almost inconspicuous when growing. The lid is 
short, apiculate, scarcely rostellate ; the annulus compound, and 


Mosses—Grimmia and Schistidium. 109 


dehiscing in fragments; the teeth of the peristome rather 
long, of a purplish red, bifid and recurved when dry; the 
calyptra conico-mitriform and five-lobed at the base. The 
moss is, however, much oftener found without than with the 
fruit. 

Grimmia torta, or the twisted-leaved Grimmia, seems like 
an exaggeration of G. spiralis, which it greatly resembles in 
its mode of growth ; but it 1s a more robust species, its mco- 
herent tufts, of a rich olive brown, rising to the height of 
from one to two inches. The leaves are more contorted when 
dry, and when they have diaphanous hair-pomts—a circum- 
stance of only rare occurrence—those points, instead of bemg 
long, are very short; the leaves are also acutely carinate, and 
channelled along the nerve, so as to be almost conduplicate. 
No fruit has as yet been met with, nor any flowers observed, 
though the plant itself is plentiful on rocks in England, Scot- 
land, Ireland, and Wales; but among the leaves near the top of 
the stem, and sometimes adhering to the back of a leaf, are 
frequently found joimted thread-like filaments, whose precise 
office is not yet fully ascertained. 

Grimmia trichophylla, or the Hair-pointed Grimmia, was 
discovered by Dr. Greville on stone walls near Edinburgh. It 
has since been found not unfrequent in similar situations 
throughout Britain; and Dr. Taylor met with it in Ireland; 
but it does not commonly occur in fruit. It grows in soft, lax, 
yellowish green patches, with stems of from a quarter of an 
inch to an inch long, rooting only at the base, and with leaves 
spreading from an erect base, flexuose, and incurved towards 
the apex, slightly crisped when dry, and with the margin 
nearly plane above, but recurved below. The fruit-stalk is 
yellowish, longer than the pericheetial leaves, but curved, as in 
G. pulvinata, while growing; when dry, flexuose and nearly 
erect. The beautiful little capsule is elliptical or ovate-oblong 
in form, its walls rather thin, furrowed or angular when dry, 
and of a pale brown; the lid has a rather long, straight beak. 
The annulus is large and dehiscent, the calyptra conico- 
mitriform and lobed at the base, while the teeth of the peristome 
are densely barred, sometimes entire, sometimes bifid. ‘The laxity 
of its tufts, and the gradually tapering leaves, sufficiently dis- 
tinguish it from G. pulvinata, even when not in fruit, the leaves 
of the latter bemg suddenly and abruptly contracted into hair- 
points. The inflorescence, too, is dioicous, while in pulvinata 
it is monoicous. 

Another Grimmia with curved seta, growing on subalpine 

rocks in Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall, but of less frequent 
occurrence, is Grimmia Shultzi, Shultz’s Grimmia. It is a 
more robust species than the last, has more crowded leaves, 


110 Mosses—Grimmia and Schistidiun. 


which are subsecund and spreading, with recurved margins, 
and which gradually taper into long, rough, diaphanous, glossy 
hair-points, which spread outward when in a dry state. The 
capsule, too, is thicker and shorter, and attached to a shorter 
fruit-stalk ; but the red teeth of the peristome are longer, more 
tapering, and more deeply cloven—indeed, so very long and 
slender are they, that the upper portion not unfrequently breaks 
off, and remains attached to the fallen lid; the annulus is 
broader, and whereas the inflorescence of G. trichophylla is 
dioicous, that of G. Shultzit is monoicous, the barren gemmi- 
form flower being always found in the vicinity of the peri- 
cheetium. It fruits in April and May. 

Growing on shady or moist alpine rocks in Scotland, Wales, 
and Ireland,in large green or brownish patches,we have Grimmia 
patens, or the tall alpine Grinvmia, its stem reaching from two to 
four inches long, or even more, branched and fastigiate, nude of , 
leaves in the lower part, and decumbent at the base; the leaves 
are muticous, 1.¢., destitute of the slender point ; they are of firm 
texture, erect and rigid when dry, rather glossy, the margin 
recurved below, and carinate, with a stout nerve dorsally two- 
winged, by which curious peculiarity the species, even in a 
barren state, may be easily recognized. The pericheetial leaves 
are shorter than the rest, wider below, and somewhat sheathing. 
The capsule is of a pale brown, smooth at first, but distinctly 
furrowed when dry, and attached to a rather short, pale, curved 
fruit-stalk, the annulus large and distinct, teeth of the peristome 
long and bifid, or bi-trifid at the apex, confluent at the base ; 
lid with rather a long beak, sometimes straight, sometimes 
oblique, and the calyptra usually five-lobed at the base. Its 
season of fruiting, like that of G. Schiultzii, is April and May; , 
but, from the growth of innovations in the stem leaving the 
fruit in a lateral position, it often escapes observation. 

Grimmia Donniana, or Donn’s Geta, grows in small, 
round, hoary tufts, with branched stems that seldom exceed a 
quarter of an inch in length. The leaves are narrowly lanceo- 
late, and tapering into roughish diaphanous hair-points scarcely 
half the length of the entire leaf, which is erecto-patent when 
growing, erect and slightly flexuose when dry, carinate, of a 
dark green, with a slightly-thickened border, the very obvious 
nerve prominent at the back, and continued to the hair-point. 
The pericheetial leaves are longer than the others ; the capsule 
quite erect, oval oblong, of a pale yellowish brown, with thinnish | 
walls, and sub-excerted: in one variety immersed. The lid is 
short, conical, seldom more than one-third the length of the 
capsule, more or less obtuse, sometimes slightly apiculate, 
entire, and without any marginal groove for the annulus, which 
is persistent. The teeth of the peristome are rather broad, 


Mosses—Grimmia and Schistidium. Lad 


densely barred, sometimes perforated, but rarely bifid. It is 
found on rocks and walls in mountainous districts, is abundant 
near Llyn Ogwen, Carnarvonshire, and elsewhere about Snow- 
don, and was discovered near Forfar by Mr. George Donn, 
after whom it is named. It fruits in March, April, and 
October. 

Grimmia ovata, the oval-fruited Grimmia, is a larger 
species, having stems half an inch long or more; more or 
less compactly tufted, branched and fastigiate, with leaves 
of firmer texture, more opaque, more erect when dry, and 
more crowded than in the last species; the margin in the 
lower part recurved, which it is not im Donmana, the 
nerve broader, but less defined, and less prominent at the 
back, and the perichzetial leaves more erect and sheathing. 
The capsule is of firmer texture, erect, oval, of a darker 
hue, beimg reddish brown, and excerted on a longer pedicel ; 
the annulus is large and dehiscent, and lodged m a groove 
on the margin of the lid, which is longer and rostellate. 
It too is found on alpine rocks, particularly on the Breadalbane 
and Clova mountains. On Snowdonitisrare. Fruiting season, 
October and March. 

Another very distinct species, with dark green foliage, and 
densely tufted stems of little more than half an inch long, was 
discovered on trap rocks in King’s Park, Edinburgh, by Mr. 
R. Brown, and to which the name of Grimmia leucophcea, or 
hoary Grimmia, has been assigned. While growing, the leaves 
are widely spreading; but when dry they are closely imbri- 
cated, concave, ovate, or elliptical, with plane margins, the 
upper ones suddenly tapering into very long hair-points, the 
lower ones muticous. The capsule is elliptical or oblong, of a 
reddish brown, erect and excerted, perfectly smooth when dry, 
and with thick walls, the lid variable in length, conico-rostel- 
late, sometimes conical and mammillate, not quite half as long 
as the capsule, and wearing a calyptra five lobed at the base, 
and covering one-third of the capsule. The teeth of the peri- 
stome are densely barred, the bars externally prominent ; they 
are also deeply bi-trifid and perforated, and are spreading 
when dry. 

G. leucopheea fruits in April. It has been found in various 
localities—on the coast of Fife ; at Fairhead, on basalt ; Abbey 
Craig, near Stirling ; and at Salcombe, in Devonshire. 

Grimmia unicolor, or the dingy Grimmia, grows also on 
alpine rocks, in broad, incoherent lurid patches, with stems 
from one to two inches long, more or less branched, the 
branches flexuose, brittle, and fastigiate, leafless below, but 
often having slender ramuli, with small ovate imbricated leaves, 
like those of G. spiralis, but more crowded. ‘The leaves of this 


112 Mosses—Grimmia and Schistidiwm. 


species are obtuse pointed, and destitute of the bristle, with a 
margin so inflexed that the upper part of the leaf might be 
called semi-cylindrical, and having a broad nerve which reaches 
to the apex, and so predominating as scarcely to be distin- 
guished from the laminar substance of the leaf. The capsule 
is ovate, smooth, yellowish-brown, erect, or slightly oblique, 
and haying a lid with a straight or inclined beak half as long 
as the capsule, annulus large and dehiscent, calyptra dimidiate 
and rather oblique. 

Grimmia atrata, or the black-tufted Grimmia, somewhat 
resembles the last, growing to about the same height, but im 
more compact tufts, with blackish glossy leaves, rather less 
rigid than in wnicolor, less obtuse, with a thinner nerve, though 
more distinctly defined, and carmate, which the leaves of 
unicolor are not. The fruit-stalk is rather thicker and longer, 
the capsule longer, and becoming blackish when old; the lid. 
has a shorter beak, and the calyptra is fugacious. The inflo- 
rescence in both is dioicous, but Grimmia atrata is the more 
rarely met with, Snowdon and the rocks above Glen Callater 
have been given as its habitats. It fruits in spring and 
autumn. 

The three other British species of Grimmia have been 
arranged under the head of Schistidiwm. They differ from 
those already described in very little more than haying im- 
mersed and almost sessile capsules, whose columella adheres to, 
and falls away with their lid. 

The term Schistidium is derived from oylfw, I split, or 
shiver to pieces, in allusion to the lacinated base of the calyptra, 
which is also so small as scarcely to cover the lid. 

Schistidiwm confertum, or the close-tufted Grimmia, is densely , 
ceespitose, with.ovate lanceolate acuminate leaves, of an intense 
green colour above, blackish below, the upper ones only shortly 
hair-pointed, erect and lurid when dry, deeply and acutely 
channelled above, and with a strong nerve dilated at the back ; 
the capsule oval or roundish, with a shortly rostellate lid, no 
annulus, and teeth much perforated. It is found on trap or 
sandstone rocks, and fruits in February and March. 

Schistidium apocarpwm, or the sessile Grinvmia, has con- 
siderable resemblance to 8. confertum; the capsule is, how- 
ever, larger, of darker hue and thicker texture, that of 
confertum being almost pellucid. S. apocarpum, too, is taller, 
more loosely ceespitose; in the larger varieties dichotomously . 
branched, and often procumbent; and the firm, opaque, 
shortened capsule has a wide mouth in the dry state: the 
teeth of the peristome are rather long, and of a dark red, 
those of confertum of a pale red or orange colour. The lid 
is convex, with a short inclined beak, and the calyptra 


Guns and Projectiles. 113 


torn into about five lobes at the base. There are several 
varieties of this moss with slight but persistent differences. It 
is found on rocks and walls, sometimes on trees, and fruits in 
February and November. 

The dense dull green or brownish tufts of Schistidium mari- 
tumum, or the Sea-side Grimmia, scarcely average an inch in 
height, but have longer, narrower, and more rigid leaves, of a 
glossy and almost horny consistence, and incurved when dry, 
especially the perichetial leaves, which, though not hair- 
pointed, have a strong excurrent nerve, of a reddish brown 
colour. The capsule is soft, of a pale bright hue, obovate- 
truncate in form, without an annulus, but with large teeth 
much perforated, and a rostellate lid. It fruits in November 
and December, and its rigid, strongly-nerved leaves sufficiently 
distinguish it from the preceding. It is found on rocks near 
the sea, but, it is said, “seldom, if ever, on such as are 
calcareous.” 

Thus we have described the whole family, as at present 
known and arranged, genus and sub-genus, fifteen in number, 
and we can promise, from experience, that whoever will take | 
the trouble microscopically to examine their peculiarities, and 
verify our assertions, will open to themselves a source of 
intense and abiding interest. 


GUNS AND PROJECTILES. 


Ir is probable that through the artillery experiments carried on 
by the Government, and through the experience afforded by 
the siege operations of the American war, the attention of the 
public will once more be strongly drawn to the question of 
arms and projectiles, and it may therefore be interesting to 

“many readers if we lay before them a few of the chief facts 
and arguments pertaining to the question, and divested of those 
technicalities which so often deter students from attempting to 
understand mechanical problems. 

A little investigation will show that fire-arms furnish a 
variety of conditions under which the laws and effects of motion 
may be conveniently exhibited, and it is certain that no im- 
portant improvement can take place in the military and naval 
apparatus for attack and defence, without great benefit being 
indirectly conferred upon the arts of peace. We shall not 
attempt to trace the history of projectiles, but it may be as well 
at the outset to correct a popular mistake, that the rude fire- 
arms of our ancestors replaced the bow and arrow simply by 
reason of their superiority in destructive power. This was 


114 Guns and Projectiles. 


certainly not the case, for while a trained archer was nearly 
certain to hit a man at 150 or 200 yards, and good shots could 
accomplish the same feat at double those distances, our soldiers 
when armed with the old Brown Bess were equally sure of 
missing any object that a street urchin could not easily hit 
with a stone. The bow and arrow must, however, have been a 
most inconvenient arm in actual war. Unless well made and 
taken care of, the arrows could not be depended upon. The 
bow was easily damaged and its string much affected by the 
weather. Moreover, the arrows were a bulky form of ammuni- 
tion. Sixty cloth-yard shafts would make an awkward load, 
while the same number of the old fashioned cartridges could 
be easily carried in a small pouch, and were much more easily 
kept in good condition. ‘The introduction of the bayonet also 
gave the musket a great advantage over the bow, for while the 
latter was worse than useless, except for the discharge of its 
projectiles, the former, when not wanted as a fire-arm, became” 
a formidable pike. 

As a weapon to hit anything with, except by accident, the 
old musket was one of the worst ever contrived, and the old 
rifle by which some of its errors were corrected, was not much 
better beyond a couple of hundred yards. Lest this should 
seem an exaggeration we will recite a few of the often quoted 
facts which Sir J. Emerson Tennent brings once more before 
the public in his interesting popular work entitled the Story of 
the Guns.* He reminds us that during the Caffre war, 81,011 
cartridges were fired in one engagement in order to make five- 
and-twenty of the enemy fall; while, during one of the great 
battles of the French war, a volley fired at thirty paces only 
brought down three men out of a squadron of cavalry 
charging a square. ‘Trials made in 1838 showed that a target 
three feet wide, and nearly twelve feet high, was missed by 
one quarter of the balls at 150 yards, and at 250 yards not a 
single ball out of ten hit it when its width was increased to 
six feet. ' 

The conditions necessary for missing the object shot at, were 
thus admirably fulfilled, and we may learn something by ascer- 
taining what they were. In the first place the projectile was a 
round ball, fitting the barrel loosely and jammed in with a 
paper cartridge. After the explosion of the powder it would 
bump up and down, or from right to left in the barrel, and 
rotate besides. When it left the muzzle no one could guess 
whether the deviation from the true course would take it too 
high or too low, too much on one side or too much on the 
other. In addition to this unknown and unknowable amount 


* The Story of the Guns, by Sir J. Emerson Tennent, K.C.8., LL.D., 
F.RB.S., etc. Longmans. 


Guns and Projectiles. 115 


of initial error, it would suffer further equally unknown and 
unknowable deflections as it went along. Its centre of gravity 
might not have been co-incident with the centre of its sphere ; 
and. if it were so when it entered the barrel, the shape 
was sure to suffer from the explosion, so as to throw it out. 
There were also more refined reasons why a round ball could 
not be depended upon to move in one plane during any con- 
siderable flight. 

In the early rifles the ball was driven into the barrel so as 
to fit tight, and one source of error was thus removed. More- 
over, it was found that the grooving of the rifles could be made 
to spin the ball about an axis parallel to the sides of the barrel 
and coinciding with the plane of its intended flight. Under 
these circumstances, and by avoiding crushing the ball out of 
shape in the process of loading, very fair shooting could be 
accomplished at from fifty to a hundred yards, and moderately 
bad shooting at twice that distance. During the continental 
war it was a great achievement if anybody was made unsafe by 
rifles at four hundred yards, and the artillery was proportionably 
ineffective as a destructive weapon. 

Among the earliest people to introduce greater precision 
into their arms were the Americans and the Swiss, both of 
whom adopted principles pointed out by Robins, the mathe- 
matician, and even by Newton. Without giving them exclusive 
credit, they practically demonstrated that projectiles must not. 
be round, if the best effect was to be obtained. A round ball 
is easily started with a high velocity, but the surface of resist- 
ance it opposes to the air is so greatin proportion to its moving 
power* that it soon takes toa slow trot, and then comes to: 
rest. If three or.four balls be placed one behind the other, it 
will be seen that so long as they touched each other, and 
moved straight forward, the front one would clear the way, and 
the others would pass with comparatively little opposition. 
This is, in popular language, the philosophy of elongated pro- 
jectiles; but to enable them to act well they must always 
move in one plane. As long as they go face foremost, they 
have, as compared with a round ball, the advantage (supposing 
the velocity to be the same) of the additional momentum due 
to their greater weight, while their area of resistance is not 
proportionably increased. 

The mechanical problem which the improvers of the rifle had 
to solve, was to obtain the best form of elongated projectile, and 
prevent its turning over or going side foremost in its flight. 
It was soon found that a long conical projectile could be made 
to move with its smallest and lightest end foremost for many 

* The momentum of a projectile is equal to its weight multiplied by its 
velocity. 

VOL. V.—NO. II. K 


116 Guns and Projectiles. 


hundreds of yards, provided it was made to revolve with suf- 
ficient velocity about its long axis all the time. So successful 
were the Swiss in applying these principles, that, as Mr. 
Wilkinson showed in an able pamphlet published in 1822, they 
could put twenty bullets in succession into a target ten inches 
square, and 200 yards off, and at 800 paces they put forty bullets 
into a target fifty-five ches square. At 1000 paces, on a 
calm day, 100 bullets in succession struck a target eight feet 
six inches square.* 

Our Government, from its unfortunate antagonism to science, 
was, of course, one of the latest in the field, and then, after an 
expensive blunder with the so-called “ Minie pattern,” it 
adopted the Enfield, an immense advance on the former rifle, 
but constructed in defiance of the principles thoroughly estab- 
lished by scientific experimenters. The faults of the Enfield 
rifle were, and are, its feeble power of spinning a long pro-. 
jectile, and the consequent necessity for using one of a clumsy 
shape that moves like a cart-horse, and in a course needlessly 
elevated above the ground. . 

Mr. Whitworth—that great master of accuracy in things 
mechanical—soon after turning his attention to the subject, 
produced the most perfect rifle yet seen. As might have been 
expected from his extraordinary talent in devising the best 
mode of ensuring a close approximation to mathematical truth 
in workmanship, he is able to produce uniformity of excellence 
to a wonderful extent. As stated in Sir Emerson Tennent’s 
work, the principle of Mr. Whitworth’s success “ was found to 
consist in an improved system of rifling, a turn in the spiral ° 
four times greater than the Enfield rifle; a bore, in diameter, 
one-fifth less ; an elongated projectile of a mechanical fit ; and 
last, but not least,a more refined process of manufacture.” 
In the Enfield rifle ‘the spiral course to be traversed by the 
bullet makes one turn round ‘the interior of the barrel in ad- 
vancing six and a half feet ; but this moderate degree admits 
only of the use of short projectiles, as long ones turn over on 
issuing from the muzzle, and short ones become unsteady at 
great ranges. Mr. Whitworth adopted with his reduced 
bore one turn in twenty inches, which he found ample for 
securing a comparatively steady flight over a range of 2000 
yards.” 

Mr. Whitworth’s rifling is commonly described as hexago- 
nal; but, as Sir Emerson ‘Tennent says, this is scarcely correct. 
“ He converts the entire inner surface of the barrel into some- 
thing approaching a hexagon, leaving in the middle of each 
division of the plane surface a small curved portion coincident 


* Many writers confound the Swiss military rifle with that employed in village 
target shooting, which is not constructed for long range. 


Guns and Projectiles. 117 


with the original circular bore of the gun, and rounding the 
angles to contribute to the strength of the barrel.” His pro- 
jectile is made to correspond by its polygonal and sloping sur- 
faces with the rifling of the barrel. 

Having been more attentive to scientific considerations than 
the contrivers of the “‘ Enfield,’ Mr. Whitworth naturally ob- 
tained far greater success, and we cannot describe this better 
than in the words of Sir Emerson Tennent, who observes : 

“ The Whitworth rifle was first formally tried in competition 
with the best Enfield musket at Hythe, in April, 1857. .... 
The success was surprising ; in range and precision it exceeded 
the Government musket three to one. Up to that time the 
best figure of merit obtained by any rifle at home or abroad 
was 27: that is to say, the best shooting had given an average 
of shots within a circle of 27 inches mean radius at 500 yards 
distance ; but the Whitworth lodged an average of shots within 
amean radius of four and a half inches from the same distance; 
thus obtaining a figure of merit of 43. At 800 yards its 
superiority was 1 to 4, a proportion which it maintained at 
1000 yards and upwards. At 1400 yards the Enfield shot so 
wildly that the record ceased to be kept; and at 1800 yards 
the trial ceased altogether, whilst the Whitworth contimued to 
exhibit its accuracy as before.’’ 

It would not be just to the memory of the late General 
Jacob to omit the fact that, by employing a well-shaped pro- 
jectile and a high twist in his rifle, he had achieved a success 
almost as remarkable as that of Mr. Whitworth. In 1855 he 
recommended a rifle with a twenty-four gauge bore, having four 
grooves, and carrying a projectile of a curved conical form, rest- 
ing on a short cylindrical base, and he states that with it ‘a tole- 
rably good shot can certainly strike an object the size of a man 
once out of three times at 1000 yards distance, and the full 
effective range is near 2000 yards—the ball at that range 
flying with deadly velocity.” * 

An important question connected with a high twist of the 
rifled barrel is, what influence is exerted on the force of the 
projectile and its range by the rapid rotation which it induces ? 
If it lessened the rapidity of its flight, so as to diminish its de- 
structive powers, it would be open to grave objections. It is 
necessary in replying to this inquiry to pay attention to the 
circumstances under which the rapid rotation is produced. If 
the friction of the projectile against the sides of the barrel is 
greatly augmented, a considerable loss of force and range 

must be the result; but by adopting different systems of rifling 

and. different projectiles, it is easy to communicate a similar 

amount of spin or rotation with widely different proportions of 
* Rifle Practice, by Major John Jacob, C.B. Smith, Hider, § Co. 


118 Guns and Projectiles. 


loss from this source. The practical question therefore is, how 
to communicate a high velocity of rotation with the smallest 
amount of friction, and up to the present time this problem has 
been most successfully solved by Mr. Whitworth. In an experi- 
mental barrel, twenty inches long, Mr. Whitworth made twenty 
turns, so that when the projectile was fired from it, the rotation 
velocity was much greater than the velocity of the forward move- 
ment, and yet it penetrated seven inchesof elm. In a paper quoted 
by Sir Emerson Tennent, Mr. Whitworth says, that ‘‘in some 
projectiles I employ, the rotations are 60,000 a minute. In 
the rotation of machinery 8000 revolutions a minute is ex- 
tremely high, and considering the vis viva imparted to a pro- 
jectile as represented by a velocity of rotation of 60,000 
revolutions, and the velocity of progress 60,000 feet per 
minute, the mind will be prepared to understand how the 
resistance of thick armour plates of iron is overcome, when such 
enormous velocities are brought to a sudden standstill.’ The 
smallest amount of friction will take place between smooth, 
nicely adapted, perfectly clean and well lubricated surfaces, 
fitting tight enough to prevent the escape of the gasses that 
impel the projectile, but not jammed against each other with 
needless force. The inside of a good rifle should therefore 
have a shape that is easily kept clean, and in this respect 
Mr. Whitworth’s modified hexagon, and Mr. Lancaster’s oval, 
possess an advantage over all intricate groovings. 

A cannon is merely an enlarged shoulder gun, to be fired 
from a mechanical stand, instead of from the human body, 


It however presents peculiar difficulties in its requirements. 


In the first place, its size is an obstacle to perfect workmanship. 
It is comparatively easy to forge a rifle barrel weighing from five 
to eight pounds, without any flaws or defects; but the same 
process cannot be repeated with the same certainty with a barrel 
weighing several hundred-weights, or tons. The cast iron 
ordnance was an attempt to make quantity of material a sub- 
stitute for quality, which had to be abandoned when greater 
perfection of performance was required. Then homogeneous 
iron carefully forged, together with various modes of strength- 
ening the barrel by additional layers of metal, either welded 
on, or simply forced on in close contact, had to be resorted to. 
An interesting work might be written on this part of the ques- 
tion, and on the various modes that have been adopted with 
greater or less success; but we must not pursue the subject 
now, or we should be led too far away from other considerations. 


Let us pass to a second peculiarity in cannons as compared | 
with muskets—the necessity for firing hard iron projectiles, — 
instead of soft lead, that readily accommodates itself to rifle — 


grooves. Ifa cylinder of lead or any other soft metal is 


Guns and Projectiles. 119 


dropped into a barrel which it loosely fits, the moment the 
powder is ignited it ‘hammers up.” That is to say, its nether 
extremity receives such arapid thump that the mass has no time 
to evade its force by getting out of the way, and consequently the 
projectile is instantly made thicker and shorter. An iron 
cylinder would, with an ordinary charge of powder, be so 
shghtly acted upon in this manner, that it would not be driven 
into the grooves, and if it were so driven, the friction would be 
tremendous in the subsequent attempt to force it through the 
barrel. Mr. Lancaster proposed elliptical iron shot, and barrels 
of an elliptical form, with the major axis twisting im a spiral as 
it descended. This plan achieved considerable success with 
rifles and leaden projectiles ; but failed when applied to cannon. 
General Jacob proposed four-grooved cannon, and four pro- 
jections or wings from the balls. Sir William Armstrong, 
with great skill, constructed cannon to fire compound projec- 
tiles—iron for strength and penetration, and lead to take the 
rifling, as in small arms. 

It is impossible to look at an Armstrong gun without 
great admiration for the beauty of its manufacture; and its | 
performance is astounding for accuracy if compared with 
most other patterns. Independent, however, of the defects 
of its method of breech-loading, it seemed marked out from 
the beginning as a provisional weapon only. Projectiles 
composed of two metals could only be regarded as substi- 
tutes for the best mode of making and discharging projectiles 
made entirely of iron or steel. The grooving of the Armstrong 
gun, although very beautiful, was a recurrence to a plan not 
found to be the best in small arms. A multiplicity of small 
sharp grooves with a moderate twist marked the weapon as 
likely to lose much power by needless friction, and not to be 
able to attain a maximum of velocity or range. So successful 
has Mr. Whitworth been in this matter that, as Sir Emerson 
Tennent states, “The average initial velocity of a sixty-eight 
pound spherical shot thrown from a smooth bore, with a charge 
of one quarter 1ts weight of powder, is 1600 feet in a second, 
and this it very speedily loses. On the other hand, with a shot 
of the same spherical form, but rifled to fit the gun, Mr. Whit- 
worth’s obtains an initial velocity of 2200 feet in a second.” 
This increase of velocity is obtained by the accurate fit of the 
projectile, and consequent prevention of the escape and waste 
of the gases into which gunpowder is resolved. In the Arm- 
strong pattern the gain would be less, because the friction is 
so much more. Sir William estimates the force required to 
squeeze his twelve-pound shot into the grooves of his cannon 
at several tons, ‘ whereas in the Whitworth gun, the shot being 
already rifled and fitted to the bore, it may be started and drawn 
through the barrel with a silken thread.” 


120 Guns and Projectiles. 


The advantage of great velocity and capacity for extreme 
range, is not confined to distant shots, as it 1s a most important 
element in facility of hitting any object whose distance is not 
exactly known. Suppose it possible for a projectile to move in 
a straight line from the muzzle of the gun to the object shot at, 
no change of elevation would then be required for different dis- 
tances. Now the nearer you can approximate the path, or 
trajectory, of a projectile to a straight lme, the less it matters 
whether you guess the distance a little more or less. If the pro- 
jectile goes high up in the air above the object, and then rapidly 
tumbles down to it in a descending curve, accurate shooting 
may be managed at targets whose exact distance is known; but 
an error of a few yards in guessing the distance and arranging 
the elevation would cause an object that was not very tall to be 
_ entirely missed. Again, in firmg at an advancing body of men, 
the ball that goes up in the skies and then plumps down, is, 
very unlikely to hit more than one if the best aim be taken, 
while the comparatively straight-gomg ball may knock down a 
dozen, one behind the other.. 

We must now consider another point—the power of projec- 
tiles to penetrate iron plates or other shock-resisting medium. 
This needs, first, great velocity ; secondly, sufficient weight 
and strength in the projectile ; thirdly, such a shape as will 
enable the projectile to break through the resistance, and not 
be broken itself. Pointed shots fail against great resistance, 
because, at the moment of striking, their pointed ends, being 
unsupported, give way. Flat-headed cylinders appear to answer 
best, and, if proceeding quick enough, easily punch their way 
through targets hike the sides of our ‘ Warriors,” which were 
supposed, until tried, capable of resisting any force. An inte- 
resting epitome of various experiments with the Whitworth 
and Armstrong guns is given by Sir Emerson Tennent, but we 
shall not dwell upon these incidents: first, because they are 
pretty well known; and secondly, because further experiments 
may throw them into the shade. 

We will, however, recall two experiments, in one of which 
a solid hexagon shot weighing 129 pounds was fired from a 
Whitworth gun at 600 yards. It struck the target within an 
inch of a white spot at which it was aimed, and pierced 4} 
inches of iron, and shattered, though it did not pass through, 
18 inches of teak lined with iron 2ths of an inch thick, and 
supported by upright angle irons, that arrested its course. 
Mr. Whitworth afterwards fired a shell through the same 
target. When the projectile struck the target a bright sheet 
of flame was occasioned by the sudden arrest of such an amount 
of motion. 

When rifle ordnance was first seriously discussed, it was 


Guns and Projectiles. 121 


predicted that they would not do for shells; but Sir William 
Armstrong proved that, on the contrary, they would fire a 
more destructive kind than had been previously employed, 
while Mr. Whitworth demonstrated that if made of the mght 
pattern, they could be easily driven through any of the iron 
ships in the navies of England or France. 

When projectiles are fired from guns, their velocity di- 
minishes as they proceed, and no attempt has as yet been suc- 
cessful to give the requisite accuracy to rockets, which supply 
their own motive power as they go along. Sir William Con- 
greve did much, and Mr. Hall improved upon his plans; but 
no rocket has yet approximated to the accuracy of a shot re- 
ceiving its impulsion from a charge of powder in a gun. An 
ordinary projectile suffers no change in the position of its 
centre of gravity during its course; but a rocket carries a 
composition that goes on burning, and thus it may be said to 
be continually discharging ballast, and shifting its weight. 
Whether this will ever be compensated, and whether it will 
also be found possible to regulate the direction and force of the 
gases discharged from its tail, we do not venture to say; but 
if some future Whitworth could perfectionate a rocket fired 
from a rifled gun, it would probably penetrate anything that 
could be made to float. 

The size of ordnance is almost as important as their con- 
struction, and perhaps a rule might be laid down to use the 
biggest that all the circumstances conveniently permitted. 
There are cases in which small guns fired often, would be more 
advantageous than big ones fired at greater intervals; and itis 
certain that monsters could not be fired as often and as quickly 
as those of moderate size. In other cases, as in attacking 
ships or forts, size must be an important element of success— 
a single shell of great bulk being able to destroy any vessel it 
could penetrate, or blow up an immense quantity of earth or 
stone work. Should our engineers succeed in constructing 
really serviceable guns, capable of throwing 1000-pound shot 
or shell, ships might become simply floating stocks for one or 
more of such barrels, and in any case it may be doubted 
whether leviathan vessels that offer so much to shoot at, and 
are so difficult to manage, will maintain their ground. 

We shall, in conclusion, say a few words on explosive sub- 
stances, and their action. In dealing with a projectile you 
wish to communicate to it, as a whole, as much motion as you 
can. When your powder is exploded, a solid is suddenly con- 
verted into gases, which, in a highly heated state, are supposed 
to occupy more than 2000 times the original bulk. The velocity 
of the transition from the solid to the gaseous state is also 
enormous, though far less than in certain other compositions of 


122 | Guns and Projectiles. 


an analogous nature. Now it is possible to strike the base of 
the projectile and the sides of the gun with such force and 
velocity as to break up their cohesion-; but this is destroying 
the carriage and the passenger instead of conveying him quickly 
to his legitimate destination. When we sit ina railway train 
and the engine starts, we feel a jerk as the coupling chains are 
extended, and the vehicles are pulled. If this jerk were 
greater than the chains would bear, they would be broken, and 
perhaps the carriage also, but we should scarcely move. Ifthe 
engine, as it sometimes is the case, were placed behind, and it 
shoved the carriages too rapidly, they would be smashed 
without receiving much forward motion. This will explain 
why, with gunpowder, or its substitutes, too great a velocity 
of action will not answer. The chemical composition, the size 
of the grains, the mode of ignition, all influence the rate at 
which solid gunpowder is changed into heated gas. When it 


is intended to burn a given quantity of powder in order to 


communicate velocity to a projectile of particular weight, the 
preceding circumstances have to be considered, and also the 
best mode of packing the powder, whether it shall occupy a 
broader or a shorter column. The length of the barrel must 
also be proportioned to the quantity of powder and the rate at 
which it burns. 

Hitherto, gunpowder has not been surpassed for practical 
utility in fire-arms, but recent Austrian experiments again 
revive the claims of gun-cotton, and perhaps other compounds, 
as yet unknown, may prove more convenient than either. 
Looking at this, and to other probabilities, we must not expect 
that we are to solve for ever the problem of the best gun and 
the best projectile. All that we can reasonably desire is, that, 
whether the skill of our nation is permitted to develope itself 
in peace, or unfortunately compelled to exercise itself in war, 
we may be amongst the foremost in science, and amongst 
the most, ready to welcome useful novelties and cast old 
prejudies and ignorances aside. 


4 


- 


Aerolites with Low Velocities. 123 


AEROLITES WITH LOW VELOCITIES. 


Tue following isa translation of the principal passages of a 
letter by M. L. Scemann, in Comptes Rendus, 4th January, 
1864 :— 

““T have the honour to present to the Academy the largest 
fraoment that was picked up of two aerolites which fell on the 
7th December last at Tourinnes-la-Grosse, nine leagues south 
of Louvain in Belgium. The desire to obtain good specimens 
for the scientific collections of Paris, caused me to visit the spot 
immediately after the event. The periodical Les Mondes pub- 
lished in its number for the 20th December, statements col- 
lected from ocular witnesses of the fall, and which differ little 
from similar relations. The largest stone was seen to shatter 
itself on the pavement of the village. Fragments were collected 
and carried off by different persons, but the greater part was 
reduced to dust and lost. The second stone was found two 
days afterwards in a fir-wood about two kilométres from the 
village. It is from this aerolite I obtained the two large pieces 
which I place before the Academy ; the remainder, which was 
twice as big, seems to have been destroyed by persons who 
wished to see its inside. Both stones are exactly alike, except 
that some spots of rust soil the fragments of the first, which 
were exposed to the dampness of the earth before they were 
picked up. The clean stone is whitish-grey, of a fine close 
texture. lis density is 3°52, and disseminated through it are 
very small metallic grains, some of a fine silver-white, attracted 
by the magnet, and others, more numerous, of a bronze colour, 
not magnetic, but soluble in hydrochloric acid, with disengage- 
ment of sulphuretted hydrogen—characters indicating metallic 
iron and sulphuret of iron. The stony matter was slightly 
fusible, and readily attacked by hydrochloric acid. Scattered 
through it were rare globules of a brown substance easily iso- 
lated by soaking the stone in concentrated hydrochloric acid. 
When separated, these globules fuse with great difficulty into 
a black enamel, while the acid exhibits the green tint charac- 
teristic of nickel.” 

Mr. Scemann then states that the facts relating to these 
Belgian aerolites suggest observations analogous to those he 
made with reference to the fall which took place at Ormes in 
October, 1857, Aerolites have been supposed to arrive with 
planetary velocity within the earth’s sphere of attraction, and he 
refers to the efforts that have been made to compute the heating 
effect of an arrestation of their motion by the resistance of our 
atmosphere, and states that Bunsen and Bronn in the Newes 
Jahrbuch der Mineralogie, 1857, », 265, calculate that the com- 


124 Aereolites with Low Velocities. 


plete arrestation of a mass of iron having such a propulsive force 
would raise its temperature a million degrees, of which the 
greater part would be lost by radiation and contact with the 
air. ‘‘I¢ is supposed,” he adds, ‘that a black crust invariably 
found in aerolites is the effect of fusion resulting from the fric- 
tion of the air. The strong detonations have been attributed 
to the explosion of the aerolites in consequence of the great 
tension resulting from the coldness of their interior, and the 
heat of their exterior portions.” If these theories were accepted, 
he points out that, it would be necessary to assign to all aero- 
htes having a black glazed surface and experiencing detonation, 
a velocity sufficient to fuse their external parts. In the case of 
the aerolites of Tourinnes he affirms that the velocity was very 
moderate—certainly less than that of cannon-shot. In proof 
of this he remarks, that when a body advances with great velocity 
its form cannot be seen, while at Tourmnes those who saw the 
aerolite agree that it looked lke an elongated cylinder. 

The second proof of small velocity he derives from the fact 
that persons who heard the explosions had time to get out of 
their houses and lock at the aerolite before it fell. Thus it 
could not have advanced as quickly as the sound travelled. In 
the case of the aerolite of Ormes, a mason assured him that the 
fragments of the stone bumped from branch to branch of the 
tree on which they fell. At 'Tourines “ the second stone, sup- 
posed to have weighed six or seven kilogrammes, struck a young 
fir about eight centimetres in diameter ; and although its trunk 
was completely flattened by the force of the blow, it was neither 
cut through nor penetrated by the great projectile, the force of 
which appears to have been completely deadened, as the stone 
was found half buried in sandy soil less than a métre to the 
right of the tree.” 

The heat of a portion of one of these aerolites, picked bi 
immediately after its fall, was estimated at 50° Cent. 

It will be interesting to see what comments astronomers 
and physicists will make upon these curious observations. 


The Wind and tts Direction. 125 


THE WIND AND ITS DIRECTION. 
BY E. J. LOWE, F.R.A.S., F.L.S., ETC. 


THE registration of the changes of the wind as marked down 
by the “‘ Atmospheric Recorder,” is known to but few persons. 
Only one instrument is at work, and this is at the Beeston 
Observatory. The value of the instrument is so great that it 
deserves to be described. 

The late Mr. Henry Lawson, F.R.S., of Bath, and the late 
Mr. George Dollond, were the inventors and constructors of this 
machine. 

Sir John Herschel had published a request to all observers 
to make constant observations for twenty-four hours on four 
specified days in each year; and Mr. Lawson being an inge- 
nious mechanic and an active observer of the weather, considered 
that he was bound as a philosopher to assist; he therefore 
determined to have a machine constructed that should record 
by mechanical contrivances all the changes that take place in 
the atmosphere at the time of the occurrence. After expending 
many hundred pounds, he at last succeeded in producing an | 
instrument that would do the following work with a number of 
pencils and zero pencils :— 

Pencil 1 records the hour on the west edge of fhe paper. 

», 218 the zero pencil for rain. 

» orecords the commencement’ and termination of every 
shower, and the amount of rain fallen every minute. 

55 41s the zero pencil for evaporation. 

» 9 records the amount of evaporation every minute. 

», 61s the zero pencil for temperature (marking the freezing 
point). 

»  ? records the temperature of the air every fifteen minutes. 

» 81s a zero pencil for wind direction, drawing the zero of 
a west wind. 

» 91s a zero pencil for wind direction, drawing a north or 
south wind according as the curve is convex or con- 
cave on this line. 

», 10 is a zero pencil for wind direction, drawing the zero of 
an east wind. 

» 11 records the wind’s direction every minute. 

3, 12 is the zero pencil for the force of the wind. 

», 138 records the force of the wind in oz. and lb. pressure 
on the square foot every minute. 

_,, 14) are the zero pencils of the hygrometer, the one drawing 
the line of perfect dryness, the other that of perfect 
saturation. 


ng me 3) 


126 The Wind and its Direction. 


Pencil 16 records the hygrometrical state of the air every fifteen 


minutes. 


», 17 records the amount of atmospheric electricity. 
», 18) zero pencils from the barometer, the one marking a 
zero of 28 inches pressure, and the other one of 31 


pi le inches. 


» 20records the height of the barometer Sieny - fifteen 


minutes. 


21 records the hour on the east edge of the paper. 
“Tt will thus be seen that twenty-one pencils are constantly 


FIG: 4. 


E 


employed, and, in fact, doing 
the work of a whole corps of 
observers. Our present pur- 
pose is not to describe the 
instrument except as regards 
the wind-pencils. 

It is of the greatest im- 
portance to have the means of 


_ knowing when every change in 


the wind takes place ; and were 
a dozen instruments lke the 
“Atmospheric Recorder” in 
action, in as many well-selected 


‘places in England, we should 


speedily know more about the 
wind and its movements. 
Waves of air would be de- 
tected, and the time when they 
passed across each observatory 
accurately recorded. 

From this instrument we 
learn that the wind works in 
several different ways, at, 
one time a steady tmmoveable 
current in a certain direction, 
which can change to any other 
direction without oscillation ; 
at another, it is nodding on a 
certain point of the compass ; 
whilst, at a third, it oscillates, 
and sometimes violently, so 
that (as instance) a south wind 
may be immoyeable in south, 
or it may slightly move 1” or 
2° on either side of south, or 


it may oscillate from S.W. to §8.E., or even from W. to H., 
and still be a south wind. 


The Wind and its Direction. (27 


‘To understand this correctly we will take several examples, 
but before doing so, it is requisite to mention that a long piece 
of drawing paper is placed upon a roller; this passes between 
two brass cylinders on to a glass table, at the end of which is 
another roller with weights, a clock drives this paper across the 
table at the rate of half an inch an hour, and the roller and 
weights wrap it up after the records have been made. Fig. 1 
is an exact copy of the movements of the wind on the 30th of 
last August, the two stars showing the direction at 9:20 a.m. 
and 7:45 p.m. The line WW is the zero of a west wind, the 
line HE that of an east wind, and the line NN that of a north 
wind, if the curve is concave, but south if convex. It will be 
sufficient to say, that if the wind pencil (which writes amongst 
these three lines) touches the line H, it must be east and go on. 
The wind on August 30th, 1863, is an example of a stationary 
wind, although the changes between 10 a.m and 8 p.m. were 
most extraordinary. The wind had been blowing WNW. where 
marked A, on reaching the star 
(*) NW., at B it was NNW., 
moving in one sweep from B to 
C, at C it was NNE., in which 
quarter it remained till the point 
D was reached, it then veered in 
one sweep through east (D’) and 
south (D”) to nearly SSW. (H), 
remaining in this quarter to F, 
then sweeping through H. to NH. 
(G) at 7.40 p.m., remaining for 
some time in this quarter, and 
becoming NNHE. at H, so that 
from A to G in the space of 
twelve hours the wind moved— 

WNW. to NNE. = 90° 
NNE. to SSW. = 180° 
SSW. to E. ss 25" 

H. to NH. = 40° 


FIG:2. 


JAN: 265, 
40,A.M.W. 


A274" 
Or 427°5° without a single oscil- 
lation. 

In Fig. 2 we have a different 
character of wind (the example 
being on January 25th, 1864), 
what I have called a nodding 
wind, on WSW., with veerings 
to SW. at A, B, and C, and a 
singular change through S. to ESE. at D, and back again in 


128 The Wind and its Direction. 


half an hour, another change at 10 a.m. to SSW., and back 
again, after which the wind oscillated gently on WSW. 

In Fig. 3 (January 23rd, 
1864) we have an example of 
an oscillating ~wind, which 
was violent at first on 8. 
(the. oscillations reaching 
from SW. to ESE.), then 
SSW. (the oscillations ex- 
tending from W to SSE); 
at 5°20 a.m. suddenly veer- 
ing to WNW. (with small 
oscillations) and then to 

WSW. In this diagram a 
' gale of wind occurred, and 
the manner of registration » 
is shown in Fig. 8, the line 
O O being the zero pencil 
line ofa calm, and A, B, C 
the registration of the wind’s 
force on the square foot, the 
greatest violence of the gale occurring at B, when 7lb. was 
registered. 

The value of such a series of registration is great, and 
especially so since Mr. James Glai- 


sher has shown that a wind law aes = 77 
exists, alaw of movement in which Bs f=“ 
in some years the direct movements 


exceed the retrograde; whilst in 
other years the retrograde move- 
ments predominate, t.e. when direct, 
working forward hke the hands of 
a watch, and when retrograde, mov- 
ing in the opposite direction. 

The contrivance is so simple 
that it cannot get out of order, 
consisting of a simple brass rod, to 
the upper end of which a wind vane 
is attached, whilst at the base a 
pencil on a short arm records all 
the movements as the rod itself 
turns round, Vig. 4, This brass rod 
is taken advantage of for the wind’s 
force; being hollow, a wooden rod 
extends through it, attached to a 
force board on the vane; whilst 
immediately above the registration table a cradle is suspended, 


Constaney of Solar Light and Heat. 129 


to which is attached a conical cup containing different lead 
weights, ranging from half an ounce to 36 pounds. According 
to the force of the wind these weights are raised, and the 
pencil marks the exact weight lifted up. 

The “Atmospheric Recorder”? and many other meteoro- 
logical instruments were presented to me by Mr. Henry Lawson, 
and are now domg me good service at the Beeston Observatory. 


CONSTANCY OF SOLAR LIGHT AND HEAT. 
BY ALEXANDER S. HERSCHEL, B.A. 


Txosz who admit no waste of power in the different opera- 
tions of the energies of nature must encounter the difficult 
question of the maintenance of a constant source of lght 
and heat upon the surface of the sun. ‘I'he sun constantly 
delivers to the earth, in heat alone, an energy equal to the hun- 
dredth part of that force by which it constantly draws the 
earth into a spiral path about itself. This is but the two thou- 
sand millionth part of the total heat, or energy, which the sun 
continually develops and dismisses into space; yet the efflux 
is unabated, and has apparently remained the same from the 
earliest historic ages, and from the remotest ages of geology, 
to the present time. 

Misled by the almost fabulous scale of this outlay, some have 
attempted to persuade themselves that a new theory of solar 
radiation might prove the estimate to be overdrawn. They 
propose to consider that solar heat, like gravity, is imparted 
only to surrounding objects, by a species of reciprocation, or 
by a sympathetic “interchange between the sun and other 
bodies ; and that it is the part of surrounding bodies to disperse 
the solar heat into space under the usual laws of radiation 
and in the ordinary form of radiant heat: did they not do so, 
that these bodies and the sun would reach an equilibrium of 
temperature by an interchange of heat, and would maintain it 
unabated to the end of time. 

This theory, in itself incredible, makes it yet apparent that 
if areasonable explanation could be given of the constancy of 
solar heht and heat it would be accepted, by analogy, as a 
step towards the better understanding of the great law of 
Newton—that one particle constantly attracts another in pro- 
portion to its mass. 

The sunas a merely heated body would fall in temperature 
and lose its light sensibly in the course of a small number of 
years, or even months. This temperature docs not appear 
greatly to exceed that of the electric arc, but it remains un- 


130 Constancy of Solar Light and Heat. 


changed. At such a temperature many, perhaps all, chemical 
compounds are dissociated into their elementary parts. Were all 
the elements of the sun dissociated by reason of an uniform pre- 
vailine temperature, their gradual recombustion, and exertion 
of their chemical affinities, would maintain the constant tempera- 
ture of the sun for a prolonged period of 8000 years. Neither 
Original heat alone, nor Original heat combined with chemi- 
cal attraction, are, therefore, sufficient to continue the solar 
activity for an indefinite time. These two operations may be 
seen in action together in a fireball with a permanent streak of 
light. The fragments of the meteor are red in light, and rapidly 
disappear as their temperature falls and vanishes by radiation. 
The streak is of immensely higher temperature, and the recom- 
bustion of its dissociated vapours maintains the high tempe- 
rature at a constant value for many seconds, and occasionally 
for many minutes after the disappearance of the fragments. A 
continual repetition of meteors would be required to supply the 
earth with incessant light from such a source, and such a suc- 
cession of meteors is therefore supposed to occur upon the sur- 
face of the sun. It is calculated that a yearly deposit sixty-six 
feet in depth of solar satellites would actually suffice to maintain 
the present supply of solar light and heat unchanged: a 
quantity much too minute to be perceived in less than many 
thousand years by angular measurements of the sun’s diameter. 

The light and heat of meteors upon the earth are confined 
to the highest strata of the atmosphere. It appears that this 
is equally the case upon the sun, and that the meteoric particles 
from their minuteness are consumed, and all their elements 
dissociated at the boundary of the solar atmosphere. Their fiery 
streaks alone remain. Like steam condensing into water, these 
maintain their high temperature until all the elements have 
re-combined and dispersed abroad their latent heat. Such 
streaks are actually seen upon the sun as straw-like or leaf-like 
lines, which intersect each other in every conceivable direction. 
When cooled, the matter must descend as dust or in drop-hke 
pieces upon the surface of the sun. The spots which appear 
upon the luminous envelope of the sun may arise whenever an 
aerolitic mass of large dimensions penetrates to the solar surface 
unconsumed, and with volcanic violence destroys the order of 
the atmospheric strata where it strikes. ‘The spots are far 
removed from the solar poles, and therefore near the plane of 


- 


the ecliptic where the planets have their orbits; but the leaf- 


like lines are seen over every portion of the sphere of the 
sun, like fireballs at the surface of the earth. Chemical affinity 
may thus be said to act the part of a damper and regulator of 
the solar fires, reserving portions of the heat suddenly imparted 
to the sun, and again maintaining its uniformity of tempera- 


Insamty and Crime. 131 


ture, when a cessation of the impulses would otherwise be fol- 
lowed by a waning of its light. 

If no illustration can be found in the regular emission of 
solar hight and heat, to the constant exercise of gravitation in 
every particle of matter, at least 1t appears more philosophical 
to approach the unexplored ground by open paths, than to 
ascribe both these principles of solar heat and gravitation, to- 
_ gether, to mysterious agency, on account of their activity alone. 


INSANITY AND CRIME. 


Tuer attention of the public has been very strongly called by 
a recent case to the question of insanity and crime, and it may 
therefore be a convenient opportunity for endeavouring to 
ascertain a few of the scientific principles by which such inves- 
tigations should be guided, and jurisprudence controlled. In the 
first place let us endeavour to limit the inquiry within the bounds 
of the knowable, for it is clearly useless, or even mischievous, — 
to suffer ourselves to be led astray in the performance of prac- 
tical duties by indulging in speculations which the restricted 
nature of our faculties must of necessity render uncertain, and 
incomplete. When any member of our society has committed 
an offence, we must not expect to be able to measure the actual 
quantity of his guilt. To do this we should have to ascertain 
the precise force of the temptation that led him astray, and the 
precise force of the resistance to the temptation which he might 
have exhibited had he strongly desired and earnestly willed to 
do that which was right. Not only should we have to ascertain 
these facts in relation to the actual state of the individual at 
the period of the commission of his offence, but we ought to 
have the whole of his life-history before us, in order that we 
might discover at what times he had destroyed the just balance 
of his faculties, by performing acts or acquiring habits that 
were bad, when it was within his power to have performed 
and acquired acts and habits that were good. It is quite 
plam that such an inguiry would far transcend all human 
powers, and we must therefore confine our researches to a 
humbler sphere, and go to the work with a consciousness that 
our most careful judgments are likely to be wrong. 

Practically, our proceedings must be limited to two in- 
quiries : firstly, whether an accused person did really commit 
the act which our law declares to be an offence; secondly, 
whether he was labouring under physical conditions that de- 
tracted wholly, or to a great extent, from that normal position 
of responsibility which we feel justified in assigning to human 

VOL. V.—NO. II. L 


132 Insanity and Crime. 


beings. No one has ever pretended that all men are respon- 
sible in equal degree for their actions. The divine, the moral- 
ist, and the popular voice, all exclaim, concerning one offender, 
that his offence is aggravated by his position and circumstances; 
while they say of another, that his error admitted of much 
excuse. Morally, the duty of each is to make the best use he 
can of the faculties assigned to him, and unless we could prove 


that all men were born with equally good organizations and . 


lived under equally beneficial conditions, we could not establish 
the theory that all were equally worthy of praise when they 
did right, or equally deserving of blame when they did wrong. 
But while we are compelled to recognize responsibility as exist- 
ing in different degrees amongst persons whom we have no 
right to consider insane, and also among those to whom that 
epithet may be applied, our jurisprudence can only take cogni- 
zance of differences that are obvious and clear. There is a 
sense in which all sane criminals may be considered insane, for 
serious crime is seldom committed until habits have been 
formed, by which animal propensities have been encouraged to 
gain the upper hand. Such cases are, however, widely distin- 
guished from actual cerebral disease, and it is the determina- 
tion of the existence or nonexistence of disease that imposes 
upon our tribunals one of their hardest tasks. If an accused 
person has the obviously defective brain of an idiot, and his 
mental manifestations have always corresponded with the idiotic 
type, no difficulty is felt. The trouble begims when an indi- 
vidual has been deemed sane up to commission of a crime, and 
we have to take the crime itself, with all its attendant circum- 
stances, as part of the evidence by which insanity may be 
demonstrated. 

The ideas of insanity enshrined in the decisions and dicta 
of our most eminent judges are so obviously absurd that it is 
astonishing they could ever have been tolerated in any society 
pretending to civilization. In Bellingham’s case, Lord Mans- 
field told the jury, that before the prisoner could be acquitted 
on the plea of insanity, “it must be proved beyond all doubt 
that he did not consider murder was a crime against the laws 
of God and nature ;” and in McNaughten’s case, when the 
House of Lords propounded certain questions to the judges, 
Mr. Justice Maule replied, “ that to render a person irrespon- 
sible for crime on account of unsoundness of mind, the unsound- 
ness of mind should, according to the law, as it has long been: 
understood and held, be such as to render him incapable of 
knowing right from wrong.” Chief Justice Tindal brought legal 
msanity to a climax by informing their lordships that “ we” 
(the judges) “ are of opinion, that notwithstanding the party 
accused did the act complained of, with a view, under the mflu- 


4 
4a 


Insanity and Crime. 138 


ence of insane delusion, of redressing or avenging some sup- 
posed grievance, or injury, or of producmg some public benefit, 
he is nevertheless punishable, according to the nature of the 
crime committed, if he knew at the time of committing such 
crime he was acting contrary to law !’’* 

Thus the English law decides the question of responsibility 
upon singularly unscientific grounds. Its testis totally fallacious, 
and it errs moreover, by a false assumption, upon which Dr. 
Bucknill thus comments :—“ It is the system of the English 
law to allow no degrees of responsibility. A criminal is either 
responsible or he is irresponsible: there are but two classes, 
in one of which room must be made for every one who commits 
an offence. In nature we find no such sharply defined classifi- 
cation.”+ So far imdeed from absolute irresponsibility bemg 
a result of insanity, it is scarcely, if ever, the case; and Lang- 
erman, cited by Dr. Bucknill, observes, “that even in the 
highest degree of insanity there still remains a trace of moral 
discrimination, with which we may connect the train of the 
patient’s ideas.” 

In modern lunatic asylums a prominent part of the remedial. 
treatment consists in making the patients feel that they ought, 
and can, comply with the wholesome regulations arranged for 
their benefit. The directors of such establishments lessen 
their inducements to act foolishly by removing mcentives 
thereto, and they strengthen their resisting power by calling 
appropriate faculties to play. Long ago Haslam cited with 
approbation the following passage from Dr. Cox, who said :— 
“The maniacal patient, however torpid, must be roused ; or, on 
the contrary, when an opposite state obtains, extreme sensibility 
and impatience of powerful impressions, there may be much 
expected from placing the patient im an airy room, surrounded 
with flowers breathing odours, the walls and furniture coloured 
green, and the air agitated by the softest harmony.”{ The use 
of such attendant circumstances was to bring the patient’s 
organism to a more balanced state. Without the rousing or 
the soothing influences, the disease controlled him; under them, 
a condition of approximate self-euidance and responsibility was 
attaimed. ‘The experience of the Idiot Asylum at Harlswood 
has demonstrated that even those deeply afflicted and imper- 
fectly organized begs who are consigned to its care, may be 
made partially responsible, because, under certain conditions, 
they became invested with a certain portion of self-control. 

We have said that in criminal cases, before the plea of 


* We have cited these cases from Roscoe's Digest, edited by Granger. 

+ Unsoundness of Mind in Relation to Criminal Acts, by John Charles Buckuill, 
M.D., London. Highley, 1854, P. 115. 

{ Haslam on Madness. Second edition, p. 341. : 


134 Insanity and Crime.. 


insanity can be admitted, a large deficiency of self-control, 
resulting from disease, should either be proved, or shown to be 
reasonably inferred. In the celebrated case of Henriette 
Cornier, described at length by Georget,* a mild, lively girl, 
remarkably fond of children, became silent and melancholy in 
June, 1825, and finally sank into a kind of stupor. In Sep- 
tember she attempted suicide. In October she entered the 
service of Madame Fournier, who could not dispel her dejection, 
and the girl would only talk of her misfortunes in losing her 
parents at an early age, and being ill-treated by a guardian. 
On the 4th of November she persuaded a Madame Belon to 
allow her to take her child—a little girl, for whom she had 
always evinced great fondness—for a walk, and having obtained 
possession of it, she cut its head off and threw it into the street, 
in order that the passengers might be attracted, and know she 
had done the deed. She stated that the idea had taken posses- 
sion of her mind, and she was determined to do it. In such 
cases there is no difficulty in arguing the existence of insanity 
from the proof that the character of the patient had changed 
in a mode quite contrary to the known progress of moral 
depravity ; but a commission of distinguished French physicians 
could not obtain proof of mental derangement by examining 
the girl after the offence. A second commission made a similar 
report, but added that their judgment could not be considered 
final if it could be proved that long before the 4th of November 
her character and habits had changed. Finally a jury found 
her guilty of “‘ homicide without premeditation,’ and she was 
sentenced to hard labour for life. In this case an injustice was 
plainly done, because the court neglected to take sufficient 


- 
Aa 


cognizance of the conditions that preceded the offence; and it | 


shows the necessity of inquirimg into the previous life of an 
offender before rejecting the plea that he is insane. 

In many instances in which the plea of insanity is set up, 
the offence is one likely to spring from moral depravity. It 
appears to haye been instigated by motives likely to rule the 
conduct of wicked men, and it is in conformity with the general 
behaviour of the offender. Under such circumstances the plea 
of insanity is usually rejected, even though it can be shown 
that the prisoner’s ideas on many subjects are very absurd. 
But extreme cases occur, in which many people would be dis- 


posed to accept the theory of insanity, although no disease — 
could be shown. Pinel records a case,+ in which the only son | 


of a weak, indulgent mother was encouraged in the gratifica- 
tion of caprice and passion. The result was an ungovernable 
disposition, that grew with his years. He quarrelled savagely 


* It is cited by Ray, Jurisprudence and Insanity, p. 198. 
+ Cited by Ray, p. 159. 


Insanity and Crime. 135 


upon the most trifling cause, assaulted his adversaries with 
fury, and would instantly kill any animal that offended him. 
When he came of age he was found competent to manage his 
estate, and was in some instances benevolent, but continually in- 
volved himself in ferocious strife, and finally killed a woman 
who used offensive language to him, by throwing her down a 
well. Similar cases, though milder in degree, often occur; 
and it would seem most consonant with reason to hold them as 
exhibitions of highly cultivated depravity, unless they can be 
accounted for by very plain and positive proof of disease. 
The paroxysms of rage exhibited by such persons differ widely 
from such instances as that of alady who, up to the age of forty- 
three, was never known to manifest a passionate disposition, 
but, after the birth of her last child, was subject to over- 
powering fits of rage, excited by the most trifling causes.* 

If good ground appears for believing that cerebral disease 
exists, it would seem proper that it should be held as very 
likely to have destroyed responsibility to a greater or less 
extent, even though its only traceable results were not obviously | 
connected with the crime. Thus, if the disease was only known 
to have led to the delusion that an individual was made of glass, 
and his offence was forgery, it would be difficult to avoid the 
belief that the offender’s self-control might have been lessened 
by the disorder, although we could not exactly tell how. In 
such cases, justice would object to an irreversible sentence like 
the death penalty formerly enacted for forgery in this country, 
or to a cruel punishment; but it would not necessarily object 
to a penal discipline directed towards the amendment of the 
patient, and accompanied by what medical treatment his case 
required. . 

The question will be asked, Would you then punish men 
who are not sane? The reply is necessarily a little complex. 
In the first place, no man, however sane, ought to be punished 
brutally, and if we omit the consideration of capital punish- 
ment, it will be universally conceded that no man ought to be 
compelled to undergo a secondary punishment that is not cal- 
culated, directly or indirectly, to promote his reformation. 

No scientific man would deny Dr. Bucknill’s statement 
concerning degrees of responsibility, and few would demur to 
the doctrine of a quotation which he makes from the fifth report 
of the Inspectors of Lunatic Asylums in Ireland, in which, after 
protesting against a morbid disposition to render lunacy the 
protector of crime, they say, “If there are extenuating cir- 
cumstances connected with the psychological condition of the 
accused, they are legitimate subjects to be considered in meting 
out the after punishment, but certainly not in the first instance, 


* Obscure Diseases of Mind and Brain, first edit., p. 179. 


156 Insanity and Crime. 


for an unqualified acquittal.” It. is not, however, a question 
of punishment only, but of the treatment most likely to amend 
its subject. 

Unreasonable opinions should not too readily be allowed to 
lead to the inference of insanity as a disease; and certainly 
not when those opinions take a form quite consonant with the 
motives a criminal would be likely to cherish. Suppose after 
a murder, a man should say that he believed all people were 
blind instruments of fate, and it should be found that he had for 
many years represented himself as compelled to do whatever 
acts he performed. There would in this, be no indication of 
insanity, intellectual or moral. But if it could be shown that, 
after leading a life of average self-control, he had from a par- 
ticular date believed himself-impelled by a power he could 
not resist, there would at any rate appear very strong ground — 
for inquiry whether he had fallen under the thraldom of a» 
disease. 

Judges have shown no disinclination to believe that disease 
may cause intellectual insanity; but the only form of moral 
insanity they have been willing to admit, is that non-existent 
kind, in which persons capable of cleverly concocted crimes are 
supposed incapable of knowing what the law deems right and 
wrong. Such errors show how exclusively professional ten- 
dencies may warp the mind, so that in particular directions 
it cannot see the plainest truth. If the brain be admitted 
to be the organ of animal propensities, moral faculties, and 
intellectual faculties, it is illogical to deny that its disorder may 
lead to an excess or a deficiency of action in any one of these 
departments, and from thence may arise a degree and kind of 
insanity, by which moral responsibility may be lessened to a 
greater or less extent. A state of general bodily health 
requires that there shall be a certain proportion between the 
rate at which work is done by the several organs of which our 
frame is composed. Too much vitality in the lungs or liver 
would disturb the condition of health, even though those organs 
did nothing wrong in kind. Thus looking to the body as a 
whole, it may be diseased simply by processes of supply and 
waste going on too fast or too slow in particular parts. 

Physiologists have as yet failed to explain how the brain 
manages to do its multifarious work; but without presuming 
to map it out into distinct organs, we may believe that its 
healthy action as a whole requires an exact regulation of the 
rate at which its different parts undergo change, and thus there 
may be cerebral disorder without any obvious exhibition of 
inflammation, or other violent action. Microscopie investigation 
may ultimately throw much light upon these questions; but 
however obscure the nature of insanity may be, we must never 


Insanity and Crime. 137 


forget that we must treat it as belonging to physical inquiry ; 
as mind, apart from organization, is utterly beyond the medical 
art, and is subject to higher powers than sit in earthly courts. 

If the preceding facts and arguments are appreciated, we 
shall arrive at a few practical results. In the first place, we 
shall desire a change of our law in conformity with common 
sense ; nor shall be diverted from this demand by a citation of 
a few decisions not quite so barbarous as those to which we 
have dircted attention. We shall require that the law shall 
take cognizance of any form of insanity that really exists, and 
that it shall admit the existence of degrees of responsibility. 

In the next place, we should demand that the investiga- 
tion and decision of an alleged case of insanity, bemg a 
highly difficult, and often complicated scientific process, 
should not be left to the accidental imfluence which highly- 
paid witnesses may have upon the minds of an imperfectly 
educated jury; but that, on the contrary, it should be an 
inquiry carefully conducted, by men who have no personal 
interest in its result, and who should be empowered to carry it 
as far back imto the previous life of the accused as may be 
needful to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. Thirdly, in- 
stances will occur in which it may not be practicable to determine 
the final disposition of the supposed criminal lunatic, until he 
has been for a considerable time under constant supervision, 
by which his actual state may be disclosed. 

Lastly, we shall perceive that criminal lunatics will not 
form a class all of one sort. Some will be sincere objects of 
affectionate pity, while others, being more or less responsible, 
will deserve actual punishment as well as medical care. 


138 Clusters and Nebulee. 


CLUSTERS AND NEBULA).—DOUBLE STARS.— 
OCCULTATIONS. 


BY THE REV. T. W. WEBB, M.A., BRAS. 


Waen Sirius, now so magnificent an object in our southern 
sky, is on the meridian, about 4° below him the eye will just 
catch a feeble, cloudy patch ; this is— . 

15. 41 M (Canis Majoris). A beautiful, brilliant, and widely- 
extended group of 8 mag. and smaller stars ; one of the brightest 
near the centre I found to be of an orange or ruddy hue; as 
has also been noted by H (No. 411). A remark of this great 
observer with respect to irregular clusters, that “it is no 
uncommon thing to find a very red star much brighter than 
the rest occupying a conspicuous situation in them,” seems to 
be to a certain degree exemplified here. Some law is probably 
concerned in this arrangement, but of a nature to us utterly 
incomprehensible. 

Sirius is nearly in a line between two smaller attendants, 
each at a distance of several degrees. The larger one lying p, 
a little s,is 8 Canis Majoris, 2 mag.; the other f, a little n, 
is y,4 mag. A line from Sirius to the latter star, carried on 
through the galaxy nearly twice as far again, and turned a 
hittle downward, will encounter a suspicious-looking district, of 
an indistinct, clustery aspect. This, the finder will turn into a 
succession of objects arranged in an irregular, and, on the 
whole, horizontal direction: a wide pair precedes ; then comes 
a bright group visible to the naked eye; a much feebler nebula 
follows, a little s, with a star lymg sp; then another pair less 
wide than the first. Hach of these will repay our attention. 
We begin with the most conspicuous, the bright cluster. 
This is— 

16. 38 HL VIII (Argis). A very splendid field of large and 
small stars, as Smyth well describes it, which should be viewed 
with « low magnifier : in the midst of it we shall at once recog- 
nize a very neat pair, whose data, according to him, are 
8”, 803°°8, 74 and 8, both bright bluish white. A little way p 
lies a bright star, about 6 mag., attended bya minute comes nf. 
This is now the lucida of the assemblage, although H., who 
numbers the cluster 459, does not mention it, and gives pre- 
cedency to the double star. About }° p lies a 5 mag. star, the 


more southerly of the wide pair which leads the whole region in 


the finder: it is worthy of notice from its fine fiery orange hue, 

The other smaller one, np, seems greenish, perhaps from con- 
trast. To gain an idea of the grandeur of the galaxy, we should 
sweep round the outskirts of this cluster, especially ina n f 
direction, ‘ Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath 


4 
- 


- 


Double Stars. 189 


created these things, that bringeth out their host by number : 
He calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for 
that He is strong in power, not one faileth.” (Isaiah xl. 26.) 

The next object in the district follows, a little s, looking 
nebulous in the finder. It is— 

17. 46 M (Argts). Described by Smyth as a noble assem- 
blage of stars from 8 to13 mag. This very beautiful cluster, 
of which the average seems about 10 mag., is nearly 30’ in 
diameter, and requires a large field. I have not succeeded in 
detecting a planetary nebula, which Smyth calls extremely 
faint, among the larger stars on its N. verge. 

The star mentioned as standing sp from this cluster in the 
finder is of a fine orange colour. While examining this, or the 
previously-mentioned fiery star p 88 Ht VIII, with a power of 
64, Feb. 8, 1864, I found it so doubled for a few seconds by 
irregular refraction, that at the moment I believed it really was 
a close pair. (See Inr. Ozs., October, 1863, p. 194, for a de- 
tailed account of a similar illusion.) 

The last object in this interesting region, a wide double star 
in the finder, is referred to the continuation of our Double 
Star List. 

In the Inrenectuat Ozserver for May, 1862, at p. 277, 
are directions for finding the head of Hydra. Between this 
region and the one which we have just been exploring, but nearer 
to the former, and bearing a little to the S., is a star, the most 
conspicuous in its neighbourhood, which the finder represents 
as three in a line. From the absurdly perplexing way in 
which the outlines of the constellations have been arranged, 
the central and brightest star is given as 30 Monocerotis, while 
it is flanked by 1 and 2 Hydrew. We have, however, nothing 
to do with this ill-named group, excepting as a pointer to a 
cluster which lies p, a little s, at a distance of about 3°, and 
which is so extensive that it will be easily recognized as a 
faint cloud in the finder. Its synonym is— 

18. 22 H VI (Monocerotis). Smyth has termed this a 
splendid group in a rich region containing several small pairs. 
Its components, chiefly about 8 mag., are condensed in the 
centre into a lengthened patch of an irregular triangular or 
arrow-headed form. H., whose No. 496 it is, says that the 
stars are from the 9°10 to the 13 mag., and none below; “ but 
the whole ground of the sky on which it stands is singularly 
dotted over with infinitely minute points ;”” invisible, of course, 
in any ordinary telescope. 


DOUBLE STARS. 


Our researches among the nebule enable us to add two 
more pairs to our list. ‘The first is mentioned under No. 17 


140 Occultations. 


of the preceding catalogue, where a wide double star is spoken 

of as brmging up the rear of a group of interesting objects. 

The brighter of the two is 4 Argiis, a single yellowish 6 mag. 

star ; the other will be easily decompounded into a beautiful 
air :-— 

121. 2 Argus. 16'°8, 3388, 7 and 74. Silvery white and 
pale white, 1836°2. I thought the smaller star bluish, 1851-19, 
186471. This fine object is supposed to be stationary. 

122. About 12° to the 8.,a wide 7 mag. pair, not men- 
tioned in the Bedford catalogue, is worthy of notice from the 
striking similarity of its components in size and hue—a deep 
orange. ‘There can be no faith whatever in appearances, 
if these two peculiar looking individuals, insulated from any 
near neighbours, though projected accidentally as it seems 
upon a rich background in the distance, are not physically con- 
nected. ‘Their aspect at once as much bespeaks their binary 
character as does that of 61 Cygni, and there is great probability 
that an investigation into their parallax and proper motion, as 
well as their distance and angle, would lead to an interesting 
result. ‘Their situation, however, commends them preferably to 
the notice of southern observers. 


OCCULTATIONS. 


March 18. A! Cancri, 6 mag., will disappear at 6h. 58m., and 
re-appear at 7h. 57m. A? Cancri, a similar star, will follow it 
at 9h. 44m., and 11h. 4m. respectively —19th. w Leonis will be 
hidden from 6h. 11m. till 7h. 28m. See the remarks on the 
occultation of this star in Inv. Ops., Dec. 1863, p. 352. The 
present is a more favourable opportunity for this curious obser- 
vation, as the disappearance takes place at the dark limb; the 
position of the limb, compared with the position-angle of the 
two stars, seems also well adapted for a successive extinction of 
the light of each component.—27th. o' Scorpii, 4 mag., will | 
disappear at 12h, 3m., and will remain invisible for 1h, 2m. 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 141 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


BY W. B. TEGETMEIER. 


MANCHESTER PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.—Jan. 12. 


On tae Amount or Carsontc AcID EXISTING IN THE AIR or Man- 
CHESTER.—Mr. Roscoe related the results of numerous experiments 
made to ascertain the amount of carbonic acid existing in the air in 
and around Manchester. He found the maximum quantity on a foggy 
winter day, January 7, 1864, when the amount reached 5:6 vols. per 
10,000 of air; the minimum amount, on Feb. 19, 1863, being 2°8 vols. 
per 10,000 of air; the mean of numerous experiments in the centre 
of the town giving 3°92 per 10,000, that of London being 3°7. Con- 
tinuous rain was found to lower the amount from 4°8 to 33 volumes 
per 10,000. 

These results show that under no circumstances does the amount 
of carbonic acid rise to 6 vols. per 10,000 of air, and that the mean 
quantity, nearly 3°92, closely agrees with that which is generally 
assumed to be the amount—namely, 4: vols.—this being the average, 
as obtained by Saussure’s well-known investigations. 


ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—Jan. 26, and Feb. 9. 


Tae Varimrins or Man i tax Inpian Ancureenaco.—Mr. Wallace 
read a valuable paper on this subject. He stated the animals of 
Borneo, Sumatra, and Java to correspond more or less closely with 
those of Asia; whilst the animals of New Guinea and the adjacent 
islands confirm the idea of their having been once connected with 
Australia. The two human races are as strongly marked in their 
diversity as the animals, Malays inhabiting the western and Papuans 
the eastern group. 

Mr. Wallace accounted for the wide spread of the Oceanic race 
of the Polynesian Islands, by regarding these islands as being relics of 
a continent formerly existing in the Pacific, and that the present 
Polynesians are the descendants of the inhabitants of a continent 
now sunk beneath the ocean—a theory whichis supported by nume- 
rous facts, both geological and zoological. 


On THE Erunonocy or Austrauia, by M. A. Oldfield.—The author 
considered the New Hollanders to be mainly of Malay descent, 
which people, he supposes, colonized the northern shores of Austra- 
lia, and their descendants to have spread lower eastward, over the 
continent, following, to a great extent, the lines marking the dis- 
tribution of edible plants. The familiar customs of the various tribes 
evince a community of origin; but, as the migrations have been 
irregular, the migratory bands have crossed each other's lines, 
leaving their traces at the points of transit. That Australia was in- 
habited prior to its colonization by the Alfouras, seems probable, from 
the existence of relics of a civilization far higher than can be claimed 


¥ 


142 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


by any tribes of the Malay family. These remains of an extinct 
civilization consist chiefly of picture-caves and sculptured rocks, 
works which the present occupants of the soil, far from claiming as 
their own, ascribe to diabolical agency. As the features and dresses 
of the figures represented are such as no untutored savage could 
possibly conceive, and the tools and pigments used are unknown to 
the existing race, the only just inference we can draw from these 
facts is, that some more civilized people has been destroyed by the 
black man; or, possibly, in some instances, the two races have 
blended, a supposition that would enable us in some measure to ac- 
count for diversities of characteristics found to exist in various loca- 
lities. The anomalies for which we thus seek to account exist chiefly 
among the inland tribes, in which we occasionally meet with physiog- 
nomies departing widely from the Australian type; and, to reconcile 
the discrepancies, we are driven to suppose that the fact is owing to 
a mixture of the blood of a pristine race with that of the Alfoura ; 
for, had this blending of races been due to the migration of strangers 
from the sea-bsard, traces of their presence would be equally per- 
ceptible along the lines of their journeyings. On the western and 
northern coasts, we find the greatest departures from the normal 
type; and this, doubtless, is owing to the advent of strangers among 
them: those shores bordering on much-frequented seas being more 
likely to have been visited by such than either the south or east 
coasts, which were, perhaps, never visited until Huropean enterprise 
led the white man to them. One of the principal causes of the re- 
duction of the aboriginal population is the scarcity of the larger 
kinds of game, consequent on the introduction of cattle and sheep 
into their country ; for the continual tending of the flocks and herds, 
the frequent driving of them from place to place, but, above all, the 
constant passage of the stock-drivers, and the wanton havoc of the 
Europeans, all concur to scare the game, and eventually to drive it 
beyond the limits of the space assigned to the tribe in whose country 
these settlers have taken up their abodes ; added to which, as such set- 
' tlements are located in the most fertile parts, from which the natives 
draw the chief portion of their vegetable diet, it very soon happens | 
that the aborigines find a scarcity of food; and, as the territorial 
boundaries of each tribe are well defined, they cannot retreat before 
the white invader ; for to pass beyond their own limits would be to 
expose themselves to the hostility of some other tribe. After suffer- 
ing hunger fora time, the natives are unable to resist the temptation 
of a feast on the cattle of the settlers; and, to avenge this act, an 
indiscriminate slaughter has too often been the policy of the Euro- 
pean. 


ROYAL MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY.— 
Jan. 27. 

Ewn'roz0a 1x tue Homan Broop.—The Secretary read an extremely 
interesting paper by Dr. John Harley, of King’s College Hospital, 
ona malady (hematuria) produced by a species of Distoma at the 
Cape of Good Hope and at the Mauritius. Dr. Harley, from an 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 143 


examination of the parasite’s eggs and embryos (obtained from his 
own and other patients) was led to believe that they were referable 
to a new kind of fluke, which he proposed to call Distoma capense. 

Dr. Cobbold remarked that no person who had previously 
familiarized himself with the appearances presented by the eges of © 
the various distomes could doubt for a moment that Dr. John 
Harley’s illustrations represented the ova of the so-called Distoma 
hematobium. In short, the symptoms, pathological products, eggs, 
and embryos described by Dr. Harley, all tended to show that this 
hematuria of the Cape was identical with the well-known Egyptian 
malady. Dr. Harley’s discovery was, however, a most important 
one in relation to the geographical distribution and prevalence of 
entozootic diseases ; for the author had now demonstrated, in a most 
satisfactory and able manner, that the helminthiasis in question was 
not confined to Egypt, as had hitherto been supposed, but was more 
or less prevalent in Southern Africa and inthe Mauritius. Speaking 
zoologically, this parasite was not a true distome, as it represented 
the type of a distinct genus, to which Diesing, of Vienna, gave the 
name of Gynccophorus ; Weinland, of Frankfort, had called Schis- 
tosoma ; Moquin-Tandon had denominated Thecosoma ; and himself 
had previously entitled Bilharzia, after the name of the original 
discoverer, Dr. Bilharz, of Cairo. He (Dr. Cobbold) had discovered 
this so-called Distoma hematobium in the portal blood of an African 
monkey (Cercopithecus fuliginosus) six months before Diesing had 
communicated his paper to the Vienna Academy, and, therefore, he 
hoped Dr. Harley (in concert with Weinland and others) would 
retain the generic name Bilharzia, which had the priority. At all 
events, this was not a new species of fluke, and, therefore, the name 
Distoma capense could not stand. But Dr. Harley’s discovery was 
none the less important on this account. It was quite clear to him 
(Dr. Cobbold) that our fellow men at the Cape, in the Mauritius, 
on the banks of the Nile, and also, if you please, our friends, the 
monkeys, obtained this parasite by swallowmg the “intermediate 
bearers”’ of the Bilharzia. These “bearers” or “ hosts’ were small 
mollusks or aquatic animals, inhabiting the African rivers. They 
contained the higher larval states of this parasite, the larve being 
introduced into the human body by drinking the African waters 
unfiltered. 


ENTCMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—Fed. 1. 


Propaste New Source or Six.—Professor Westwood showed 
samples of a peculiar silk forwarded from St. Salvador, South Ame- 
rica, said to be produced by larva feeding on a native species of oak 
(Quercus). The silk, which is produced in flat layers, and not in 
cocoons, is said to be of good quality, and to be capable, after card- 
ing, of being used in the arts. 

Mr. F. Smith showed a curious collection of wasps’ nests, in every 
stage of progress, from their first commencement to their comple- 
tion. All of these had been constructed under the direct superinten- 
dence of Mr. Stone, who has so far succeeded in domesticating wasps 
as to be able to induce them to construct their nests in any situation 
that he wishes. 


144, Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—Feb. 3 and Feb. 19. 


Tae Permian Rocks or tHe Norra-West or Encranp.—Sir R. I. 
Murchison and Professor R. Harkness communicated a paper on the 
Permian group, in which they propounded a new view-of their com- 
position; and, by the consequent re-arrangement of the rocks in- 
volved in this change in classification, they were enabled to place 
the Permian strata of Great Britain in direct correlation with those 
of the continent of Europe. This new feature in British classifica- 
tion is the assignment of a large amount of red sandstone in the 
north-western counties to the Permian period, and its removal from 
the New Red Sandstone, or Trias-formation, to which they have 
hitherto been assigned in all geological maps. The authors showed 
that these red sandstones are closely and conformably united with the 
Magnesian Limestone, or its equivalent, and form the natural upper 
limit of the Paleozoic deposits. They thus affirmed that a tripartite 
arrangement of the Permian rocks holds good im Westmoreland, 
Cumberland, and Lancashire, and that the three subdivisions are cor- 
relative with those formerly shown by Sir R. I. Murchison to exist 
in the Permian deposits of Germany and Russia. 

The difference im lithological details of the Permian rocks of the 
North-West of England from those on the opposite flank of the Pen- 
nine chain was next adverted to ; and it was observed that, with so 
vast a dissimilarity in their lithological development in England, we 
need not be surprised at finding still greater diversities in these pro- 
twan deposits, when followed into Germany and Russia. 

The discovery, by Professor Harkness, in the central member of 
this siliceous group in Westmoreland, of numerous fossil plants 
identical with the species of the Kupfer Schiefer in Germany, and in 
the Marl-slate of the Magnesian Limestone of Durham, was given as 
a strong proof of the correctness of the authors’ conclusions. 

On the 19th Feb. Professor Ramsay delivered an annual address 
of unusual interest and importance. The subject was a continuation 
of that of last year, and the learned Professor went into an elabo- 
rate investigation of the evidence that great breaks existed in the. 
biological and stratigraphical record presented by the secondary for- 
mations in this and other countries. When the address is published 
it will, no doubt, receive further notice in the Inrpniincruan. Os- 
seRvER; and all that our present space and opportunity permits is to 
say that an investigation of all the known facts concerning the 
secondary, or Mesozoic, strata, confirms the views expressed by Pro- 
fessor Ramsay, and coupled by the leading geologists, with reference 
to the Palwozoic rocks,—namely, the incompleteness of the record, 
and the strong egy that the whole series of changes in the 
life of the globe have been brought about by the very slow and gra- 
dual action of causes operating through enormous periods of time. 
Professor Ramsay laid before the Society carefully prepared tables, 
to show the proportion of species that can be traced upwards and 
downwards from particular secondary formations. These tables 
show the changes, of which known rocks furnish the records, to be 
more gradual than has generally been supposed ; and, if we make 


Notes and Memoranda. 145 


allowance for the loss or non-discovery of so many pages in the great 
Stone Book, the idea of a series of alternate creations and destruc-: 
tions must give place, to make way for a continuous picture of de- 
scent with modifications, and a replacement of species by causes 
analogous to those which affect the fauna of our own times. 


NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 


New Facrs in Fermentation.—M. A. Béchamp states in Comptes Rendus 
that if the must of grapes of different kinds is filtered, the ordinary alcoholic fer- 
ment (yeast) only appears in it; but, if not filtered, thread-shaped ferments make 
their appearance also, and occur largely with free access of air. The fermentation 
of filtered grape juice effected by yeast only, yields a wine that differs con- 
siderably from that of unfiltered grape juice fermented in the ordinary way. 
He cannot state exactly what part is performed by the filiform (vibrio-like ?) 
ferments, but does not find that they materially augment the quantity of 
acetic acid in the wine. 


Smoorine-Stars IN THE Two HemispHERES.—M. Poey, in a paper com- 
municated to the French Academy on the Shooting-Stars he had observed at 
Havannah, states that the number of meteors seen in the Northern Hemisphere 
is nearly double that of those seen in the Southern; and that, while in the 
Northern the maximum number is seen between one and two o'clock, in the 
Southern the greater part are seen between two and three. 


SPONTANEOUS GENERATION Commirren.—At the sitting of the French 
Academy on January 4th, M. Pasteur stated that Messrs. Pouchet and Joly 
denied his assertion, “that it was always possible to take from any place a notice- 
able, but limited quantity of air, which had not undergone any modification, 
chemical or mechanical, and which was, nevertheless, unfit to cause any alteration 
in an eminently putrescible liquid.” MM. Joly and Musset declared that if, 
under such circumstances a single vessel remained unaltered, they would acknow- 
ledge their defeat. M. Pouchet said, “I affirm that, from whatever part of the 
globe I take a'cubic decimetre of air, when I place it in contact with a fermentable 
liquor enclosed in a hermetically sealed vessel, it is always filled with living 
organisms.” All the parties were willing to repeat their experiments before a Com- 
mission named by the Academy, and accordingly Messrs. Flourens, Dumas, 
Brongniart, Milne Edwards, and Balard were nominated for the purpose. 


Anitine Yertow anp ‘Anrtinr Buve.—Professor Hoffman has communi- 
cated to the Royal Society his observations on a yellow substance obtained by Mr. 
Nicholson from a resinous substance left in the preparation of rosaniline. Pro- 
fessor Hoffman calls this material chrysaniline, and states that it is a finely-divided 
yellow powder, like fresh precipitated chromate of lead, uncrystalline, scarcely 
soluble in water, easily so in alcohol and ether. It constitutes an organic base, re- 
presented by the formula C,,H,,N;. 

To form Auiline blue, rosaniline salts are heated at a high temperature with ex- 
cess of aniline, or rosaniline is so heated with salts of aniline. The transition was 
first observed by MM. Gerard and DeLaire, and has become the foundation of a 
new branch of industry. 


Tue Crrmprne ANnaBas.—Some doubt having been thrown on the climbing 
properties of this curious fish (Anabas scandens), Captain Jesse Mitchell, of the 
Madras Government Central Museum, states in the Annals Nat. Hist. that his 
assistant, Mr. Rungasaway Moodeliar, has seen it climb palmyra trees growing by 
the side of a tank or pool. ‘he fish climbs by means of its opercula, which move 
unlike those of other fish. It crawls up the tree sideways to the height of five or 
seven feet, and then drops down. 


IntusTRATION OF NeEGATIVE EyipENcr.—Many disputes in geology are 
founded upon the generally unwarrantable assumption that certain animals or 


146 Notes and Memoranda. 


plants could never have existed, because their remains have not been found. It 
is, therefore, interesting to note a modern instance, in which naturalists are with- 
out that kind of proof, furnished by a specimen, of the existence of an enormous 
animal, apparently not uncommon. Dr. Gray, speaking of the Physetes, or Black 
fish of the whalers, states in the Annals Nat. Hist.,“ there is not a bone, nor even a 
fragment of a bone, nor any part which can be proved to have belonged to a speci- 
men of this gigantic animal to be seen in any museum in Europe. This is the more 
remarkable, as the animal grows to the length of more than fifty feet, is mentioned 
under the name of the Black fish in almost all whaling voyages, and two specimens 
of it were examined by Sibbold, having occurred on the coast of Scotland.” 


Tue Nite 1y Earty Aces.—The Quarterly Journal of the Geological 
Society, No. 77, contains an important paper by Dr. Leith Adams, who has been 
collecting fresh-water shells in the Nile Valley at considerable elevations above the 
present river level in flood seasons. The conclusions deduced from his observa- 
tions are “that there is reason to infer that the Nile in early ages was a rapid 
river, and that the force of the stream has been steadily declining ; at least, since 
the upheaval (?) of the valley ceased.” Dr. Adams adds that Mr. Rhind’s 
observations tend to show that “the change has been scarcely perceptible within 
the long historical periods furnished by the records, excepting on certain points 
caused by a change in the direction of the river’s force.” 


ARTIFICIAL RatnBow.—M. J. Duboscq has contrived for the French theatre 
a method of imitating the rainbow, of which Cosmos speaks very highly. He 
employs an electric light, obtained with the aid of 100 Bunsen elements. The 
first lenses of his optical apparatus render the rays from this source parallel, and 
transmit them through a rainbow-shaped hole in a screen to a double convex 
lens of very short focus, from which they pass to a prism, and emerge with 
sufficient divergence to make an effective rainbow on a screen about six yards off. 
This rainbow is said to be brilliant even when the whole scene is lit up. 


Aw “Arrtat Navicatron Socrety.”—A society under this title has been 
constituted in Paris, to assist the experiments of M. Nadar, and promote atmo- 
spheric travelling. 

ExxorricaL Ligur at Carr pr 1A Hiéve.—The French government has 
maintained an electrical illumination at this lighthouse, which is near Havre, 
since 26th December. 


InpusTRiAL Epvucation or Sprprrs.—M. Duchesne Thoureau has \for- 
warded to Cosmos a specimen of a sort of felt produced by spiders in confine- 
ment, and he states that a suflicient number of these creatures placed under 
conditions of domestication, which he does not explain, will make soft, warm carpets 
of any size! The editor of Cosmos says that the specimen of spider manufac- 
ture sent to him is like German tinder in appearance. 


Preservation or Mrat.—M. Pagliuri has sent a note to the French Academy 
on his method of preserving meat. He washes it over with a liquid composed of 
alum, benzoin, and water, this leaves a film of a protecting substance, which he 
states permits evaporation to go on, but prevents the access of the ferments of 
putrefaction. Specimens ofthe preserved meat were exhibited, but they are said 
not to have presented a very enticing appearance. 


Insection or OxyGEN mntTO Verns.—M. M. Demarquay and Lecompte have 
shewn that considerable quantities of oxygen may be thrown into the vena cava 
below the liver, or into the vena porta, without killing an animal and without 
changing the colour of venous blood.— Comptes Rendus, No. 4, 1864. 


SATE 


gu , 


Pate 


PARASITES. 


EGG 


rmourer 


I 


dioica. 


8. 
Pythium monospe 


( 
9. 


8. 


14.9 15. 16. 


S. monoica,. 


a 
Oo 
= 

= 

° 

oO 


A. 


13, 14, 
17, 18, 19, 20, Aphanomyces stellatus. 


t 


, 6, Saprolegmia ferax 
wrolifera, 


5.6 


P Achlya I 


THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER, 


APRIL, 1864. 


EGG PARASITES AND THEIR RELATIVES. 
BY THE REV. M. J. BERKELEY, M.A., F.LS. 
(With a Tinted Plate.) 


AtMmost every one who is engaged in experiments on the de- 
velopment of the ova of fishes, at the present moment quite a 
fashionable employment, complains that they are subject to 
the attacks of some parasite, which effectually destroys their 
vitality. 

Various parasites indeed occasionally infest them, such as 
green conferve, belonging to the genus (Hdogoniwm and others; 
but there is an especial group of organisms variously assigned to 
Fungi and Algz, which are notoriously antagonistic to animals, 
especially those of aquatic habits, in a low stage of vitality. 
Fhes are attacked by them while still alive, and so are our 
aquatic mollusca, but not only these smaller beings, but fish 
of considerable size often fall a prey to them, as is well known 
to those who have aquaria, and as we have ourselves witnessed. 
at the London Zoological Gardens, and elsewhere. It is one 
or more of these organisms which attack the ova of our trout, 
salmon, and char, and therefore a few words about them at the 
present moment can scarcely be unacceptable. 

It is now more than forty years ago since these productions 
were tolerably well characterised, and one of their most pro- 
minent features detected ; but it is only of later years that they 
have been thoroughly investigated. Some of the group are 
parasitic on confervze and other aquatic plants, but we shall 
confine our remarks to the genera Achlya, Saproleqnia, Pytha, 
and Aphanomyces, so far as they affect animal substances. 

Gruithuisen appears to have been the first person who 
observed in the clavate tips of the threads of one of them, 
Saprolegnia ferax (Figs. 1—6), a multitude of minute spore-like 
bodies, which escaped from them and moved about when free 
like Infusoria. This observation, on which the genus Sapro- 

you. ¥.—No. Tit. M 


148 Egg Parasites and their Relatives. 


legnia was first established by Nees von Hsenbeck, has been 
now extended with certain modifications to the whole group ; 
and on this account, in addition to their aquatic habits, these 
plants have been associated with the Ale, though their 
appearance and habit are rather those of some-of the moulds. 
Carus, however, in investigating a mouldy appearance which 
arose on a dead salamander, having immersed half im water 
and kept the other half moist in air, obtained from the latter 
an undoubted species of Mucor, while from the former he 
obtained Achlya prolifera, Nees (Figs. 10—12). This was 
taken at the time as a strong argument for the instability of 
the lower plants, while in truth it was only one amongst many 
proofs of a fact which was then unknown, but has since been 
amply manifested, that in these lower plants there is a duality 
or plurality of modes of fructification. Indeed, though the 


active spores, moving about with one or more lash-like appen-, . 


dages, resemble exactly the reproductive bodies which are so 
common amongst Aleve, there is now evidence amongst moulds, 
as in the genera Peronospora and Cystopus, and still more 
amongst the Myzxogqastres, that there are active spores amongst 
true Fungi. The difficulty, therefore, in great measure, ceases, 
and I have not a doubt left in my own mind about the subject, 
while I consider my remarks in the introduction to Cryptogamic 
Botany, which have been called in question, fully confirmed. 

Correct information as to the structure of these curious 
parasites has been obtained but slowly, and as it is scattered 
up and down amongst a variety of journals, it is proposed to 
give here a sort of précis, without any pretensions to novelty. 
The most complete account is that by Pringsheim, in his Journal 
of Scientific Botany.* His definition of three of the genera to 
which these animal parasites are referrible is here given nearly 
in his own terms, to which is added a fourth, Aphanomyces, pro- 
posed by De Bary. . 

Saprolegnia, Nees v. Hsenb.—Infusorioid spores formed in 
the interior of the sporangia, and immediately after their forma- 
tion isolated and active without any previous membrane. New 
sporangia formed by the repeated protrusion of the basal mem- 
brane into the old sporangium. Odgonia containing numerous 
resting spores. (Figs. 1—8.) 

Achlya, Nees v. Esenb.—Infusorioid spores formed in the 
interior of the sporangia, but after their formation collected im 
a head at the point of issue, and clothed witha membrane. 


The basal membrane of the sporangia forming lateral sporangia | 


by protrusion at the base of the primary sporangia. Resting 
spores numerous in the Odgonia. (Figs. 10—14.) 


* Jahrbucher fur Wissenshaftliche Botanik herausgegeben von Dr. N. Prings- 
heim, 1857 and 1589, 


gg Parasites and their Relatives. 149 


Pythiwm, Pringsheim.—Infusorioid spores formed at the 
orifice of the sporangia from their ejected contents, not sur- 
rounded by a membrane. Basal membrane neither prolonged 
into the cavity of the sporangium nor bursting out laterally. 
Odgonia containing a single resting spore. (Figs. 14—16.) 

Aphanomyces, De Bary. —Infusorioid spores formed in a 
single row in long cylindrical tubes, collected in heads after 
ther discharge, and acquirmge a membrane before becoming 
free. Resting spores single in the Odgonia. Antheridia 
formed from the swollen tips of lateral branches. (Figs. 17—20.) 

The parasite I have more especially seen on fish eggs 
belongs to the first genus, but as it has produced sporangia 
only, 16 is scarcely possible to speak positively as to the species, 
though I believe it to be referrible to Saproleqnia ferax. 

To make this history more intelligible I will describe one 
or more species of each genus, in the course of which the 
technical terms used above will appear more clear. 

The first appearance of Saprolegnia monoica, as indeed also of 
S. feraz, is that of delicate white or greyish, nearly equal, simple 
or slightly-branched threads, without any joints, radiating in 
every direction, and containing a grumous granulated mass. 
The tips of these threads gradually swell, and after a time a 
septum is formed at the base, after which the contents are 
collected into little pellets, each of which, at length, is separated 
from the rest, and becomes an ovate spore (Fig. 3), which 
escapes by a little aperture at the tip, and is furnished with one 
or two delicate thread-like appendages, by means of which it is 
able to move about like an infusorial animal with great rapidity. 
After a short time motion ceases, and the spore germinates and 
produces a new plant. (Wig. 4.) 

After the sporangium is exhausted the septum at the base 
becomes convex, pushes forward (Fig. 2) into the vacant cavity, 
which it more or less completely fills, and produces another 
crop of spores, sometimes projecting through the aperture of 
that-which was first formed. This process is repeated a third 
or even a fourth time till the powers of vegetation are 
exhausted. 

Now, however, a second form of fruit (Fig. 5) appears. A 
form which has been called an Odgonium, because it produces 
spores which are quiescent and dormant for a time like eggs, 
and not furnished with motile appendages. Lateral branches 
are given off for their production, which terminate in large 
globose sacs, which, like the sporangia, are not at first separated 
by any septum. One, however, is at length formed, and the 
membrane becomes pierced with numerous apertures. Mean- 
while other branches (as in S. monoica) spring up in their 
neighbourhood, the tips of which swell, and at length become 


150 Figg Parasites and their Relatives. 


anthenidia filled with granules, which seem to have the power 
of impregnating the contents of the Odgonia (Fig. 7). Pro- 
cesses from the antheridia enter the apertures (Fig. 6) in the 
walls of the Odgonia, the contents of which are soon trans- 
formed: into numerous large globose resting spores. These 
like the others have the power of propagating the plant, and, 
like the resting spores of some other Algw, are able to exist 
some months without vegetating, though occasionally they 
germinate in situ. As regards the vegetation in general, it 
proceeds with the utmost rapidity, so that constant attention is 
necessary to follow out the several phases satisfactorily. 

In Saprolegnia ferax the first stage is precisely the same, 
but there are no lateral branches by the contents of the tips of 
which the Odgonia can be impregnated (Fig. 5). This is 
the case also in some other species, in which impregnation 
takes place by means of antheridia produced within the Odgonia, | 


or bodies resembling the Odgonia in form, or by antheridia — 


produced on certain threads, which after a time become free, 
and attach themselves to the Odgonia, as in some genera of 
Algze, where they are called by the Germans Mannchen, a term 
equivalent to Homunculi. The different species are, however, 
not at present perfectly characterised, and Pringsheim, who 
has paid so much attention to these productions, and to whom 
we are indebted for the greater part of our information, does 
not profess to have placed every particular beyond doubt. 

In Saprolegnia dioica, however, he has shown that, after the 
power of forming sporangia has been exhausted, a new crop 
of threads springs up from the matrix, destined to produce the 
antheridia. ‘The upper portions of these threads (Fig. 8) be- 
comes septate, and commencing with the uppermost joint the 
contents become organized and re-transformed into myriads’ 
of minute bodies (Fig. 9), each of which bears a single thread- 
like appendage. These bodies are ejected from a terminal 
papilla, but in the succeeding joints the point of egress is 
lateral. They do not germinate like the infusorioid spores, and, 
_as there seems to be no other mode of impregnation, it is con- 
jectured that they pass through the apertures of the Odgonia, 
and thus vivify the resting spores. 

Saprolequia feraw is extremely common on flies in autumn, 
and may at almost any time be procured for examination by 
simply placing a few of the languid flies which are so common 
towards the close of the year in water. : 

Achlya prolifera (Figs. 10—12) will, however, sometimes 
appear on the same matrix, and possibly on other animal sub- 
stances also. . 

The first stage of this plant is very like that of Saprolegnia, 
at least up to the formation of the first septum at the base of 


ee 


Ligg Parasites and their Relatives. 151 


the clublike end of the threads. The contents, however, of 
the joint when differentiated are not at once discharged as 
perfect infusorioid spores, but are collected in a globular 
head (Fig. 10) at the pomt of issue, where, after a time, each 
individual acquires a membrane, through which (Fig. 11) the 
spore at length bursts and moves about by the means of two 
appendages (Hig. 12). 

The portion below the effete joint does not, asin the former 
case, push forward into the cavity, but bursts laterally through 
the walls, and as this process is repeated we have a forked 
thread. 

The Odgonia are formed, as in Saprolegnia feraz, without any 
lateral branches, and, as in that plant, its walls are perforated 
with numerous holes. The antheridia in this species are, we 
believe, unknown, but in a closely allied species, A. dioica, they 
are produced, as in Saprolegiia dioica, on distinct threads 
(Fig. 15) thrown up from the base of the tuft after the 
sporangia have been formed. The threads are articulated in 
the same way, and, commencing with the upper joint, the 
contents are transformed into a number of globose antheridia, 
each of which gives rise to a quantity of uniciliate bodies (Vig. 
14), which escape from the common aperture, leaving the mother 
cells behind. ‘The process is repeated till it extends to four 
of five jomts. The minute bodies do not germinate, and, 
therefore, as in the case of S. dioica, there seems little doubt 
about their functions. 

We next come to Pythiwm, one species of which, P. mono- 
spermum (Figs. 14*%*, 16), grows on dead insects in water. 

In this species the sporangia, which are produced on short 
lateral branches, are solitary and extremely long (Fig. 14*), 
with one, or sometimes two, shorter delicate appendages at their 
base. The contents ooze out and form a globular mass (Fig. 15) 
at the apex, im the centre of which the infusorioid spores are 
formed. The Odgonia are small and globose, and with or with- 
out a terminal thread or papilla; lateral threads are given off 
in their neighbourhood, the tips of which swell into antheridia 
and penetrate the Odgonium through one of its apertures by 
means of little rootlike processes, as in Saprolegnia monoica 
(Fig. 7), thus giving rise to a solitary resting spore (Fig. 16), 

We have still to notice the fourth genus, which has been pro- 
posed by De Bary under the name of Aphanomyces (Figs. 17—20), 
a name which seems to imply a close affinity with Fungi, if 
not an immediate relation. Three of the species described 
grow upon insects in water. This genus is distinguished from the 
last by the peculiar mode in which the infusorioid bodies are 
formed. Hach is produced separately from the contents of the 
thread, and as one escapes another comes forward from behind 


152 Egg Parasites and their Relatives. 


(Fig. 17). When all have emerged each gradually acquires a 
separate membrane (Fig. 18), from which it ultimately escapes, 
moving about with one or two cilia (Fig. 19). The Odgonia 
are elobose. Impregnation takes place by means of antheridia 
produced at the tips of lateral branches, as in Pythiwm. In 
Aphanomyces stellatus the Odgonia are covered with projecting 
papille (Fig. 20). In A. scaber they are much less rough, 
while in A. levis they are quite destitute of warts. A single 
resting spore only is formed in each sac. 

Jt remains only to notice a curious circumstance that, in an 
unnamed species of Saprolegnia, Pringsheim has occasionally 
found a single echinulate body formed within the Odgonium, 
reminding one at once of the similar bodies observed by 
Caspary and others, which are formed as a second kind of 


fruit im Peronospora. Cienkowski has also observed some- | 


thing very similar. This appears to be an additional argu- 
ment for the reference of these curious bodies to Fungi. 
Attention also may be called to the close resemblance of the 
process of impregnation in Saprolegnia dioica to that which 
Hofmeister is said to have observed in Truffles (Pringsh. Jahr. 
Band 2), and still more to De Bary’s observations on Cystopus 
and Peronospora, in the 20th volume of the fourth series of 
Annales des Sciences Natwrelles, just published, and of which 
I shall hope shortly to give a report in the InretiucTuaL 
OBSERVER. 

If Iam asked to propose a remedy for the disease, I am 
unable to make any plausible suggestion, as the substances 
which might prove an impediment to the production of these 
plants may prove equally detrimental to the eggs or fish which 


it is wished to protect. I can only suggest that a weak solu- ° 


tion of hyposulphite of soda should be tried in the case of a 
few eggs, and, if it succeeds on a small scale, the experiment 
might be easily extended. No one would be rash enough to 
risk any great loss on a first experiment. 

The following are the principal treatises which have been 
examined in the preparation of this paper:—Gruithuisen in 
Act. Leop. 1821, p. 450, t. 388. Carus in Act. Leop. 1823, 
t. 58. Pringsheim, Nov. Act. 1850, t. 46—50. Thuret 
Recherches sur les Zoospores des Algues, 1851. De Bary 
Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Achlya prolifera Botanische Zeitung, 
1852. Cienkowski Algologische Studien Bot. Zeit. 1855. 


Pringsheim in Pringsheim Jahrb. Band 1, Heft 2. Pringsheim — 


Band 2, Heft 2. De Bary in Pringsh. Jahrb. Band 2, Heft 2. 


DESCRIPTIONS OF FIGURES. 


Figs. 1—6. Saprolegnia ferax.—1. Group of threads with 
sporangia in different stages of growth, magnified. 2. Forma- 


: 
| 
| 


Photography—Its History, Position, and Prospects. 153 


tion of second sporangium. 3. Infusorioid spore highly mag- 
nified. 4. Do. do. m germination. 5. Odgonia in various 
stages, magnified. 6. Portion of wall to show the apertures. 

7. Saprolegnia monoica.—Odgonium with antheridia, one 
of which has penetrated the cavity by means of a rootlke 
process. 

8,9. Saprolegnia dioica.—8. Thread magnified, producing 
spermatozoids. 9. Spermatozoid highly magnified, lalled with 
iodine. 

10—12. Achlya prolifera—l10. Tip of thread, showing the 
infusorioid spores making their way to the tip of sporangium, 
and new sporangium formed at the base. 11. Infusorioid spores 
surrounded by membrane, and two empty cases, highly mag- 
nified. 12. Perfect spores free, highly magnified. 

13, 14. Achlya dioica.—I13. Tip of thread containing an- 
theridia, from some of which the spermatozoids are escaping. 
14. Spermatozoids, killed with iodine, highly magnified. 

14*—16. Pythiwm monospermum.—l4.* Thread with 
sporangia magnified. 15. Infusorioid spores collected at tip 
of a sporangium, highly magnified. 16. Odgonium with an- 
theridium. 

17—20. Aphanemyces stellatus—17. Thread showing the 
spores making their way, one by one, to the tip. 18. Spores 
surrounded by membrane and empty cases. 19. Do. free. 
20. Odgonia with antheridia. 

The figures are all borrowed, with a single exception, from 
the above-mentioned memoirs. 


PHOTOGRAPHY—ITS HISTORY, POSITION, AND 
PROSPECTS. 


PART IL—HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY. + 
BY J. W. MSGAULEY. 


In treating of a science which, although the creation of but 
acomparatively recent period, has become so extensive as to 
be dependent on an immense number of principles, to include 
a great variety of processes, and to be scattered over a vast 
body of literature in every modern language, it will be im- 
possible, even in a paper of unusual dimensions, to give more 
than a glance at its past history, its present position, and its 
future prospects. It is not our object to teach the Art of 
Photography, we propose merely to trace its progress from its 
first ghimmerings to its now wondrous development; to give a 


+ The remaining parts will follow at early dates. 


154 Photography—Its History, Position, and Prospects. 


short general view of its most important processes; to explain 
the most interesting ‘of the principles on which its manipula- 
tions are founded ; and finally to notice some of the accidents 
and failures to which itis lable. Although it is almost im- 
possible to keep these perfectly distinct, it is more convenient 
to treat them separately. . 

Photography (light writing) enables us to produce pictures 
by means of the sun’s rays, nevertheless its designation has 
not been happily chosen. Niepce very early suggested the 
term Heliography (sun writing), which would be far less open to 
objection ; but it was not adopted: and the name, lke many 
others which are unfortunately found in science, and wereformed 
under the dangerous guidance of imperfect knowledge, is 
likely to maintain its position. It is not improbable, however, 
that it may yet be appropriate, since the day appears not very 
remote when even the various coloured rays will be compelled 
to leave their characteristic and permanent impress, and the 
photograph will become a picture in the truest sense of the 
word. 

History or Puorocraruy. Photography originated in, and 
its chief processes still are—as perhaps they always will be— 
founded on the fact that the salts of silver are blackened by light. 
This, although so recently utilized, is not a new discovery. So 
early as the middle of the fifteenth century the alchymists had 
observed the blackening of fused chloride of silver; and they 
even considered the “ sulphurous principle ” of light, as they 
termed it, one of the chief agents through which nature re- 
ceived her variety of form. This extraordinary property of 
light continued, at least from time to time, to arrest the atten- 
tion of philosophers, but the progress of its investigation was 
long and tedious. In 1777, Scheele concluded from his experi- 
ments that the dark tint produced was due to “‘ reduced sil- 
ver”; and he remarked that the violet acted more energetically 
than any other ray. In 1801, Ritter observed that a silver 
salt was blackened ina space beyond the violet of the spectrum, 
and that the red ray restored the reduced chloride. Then, it 
was discovered that the action of light was not confined to 
argentiferous compounds; Wollaston, in 1802, ascertained that 
cards moistened with tincture of gum guiaiacum acquired a 
green tint in the violet ray, but lost itin the red. In 1810, 
Seebeck noticed that the tints produced by light on chloride 
of silver were different with the different coloured rays; violet 
rendering it violet; blue, blue; yellow, white; and red, red. 
This was the first approximation to Heliochromy. Berard per- 
ceived that, when the rays of the spectrum, from the green to 
the extremity of the red, were concentrated by a lens, chlo- 
ride of silver, exposed in the focus for more than two hours, 


4 


- 


Photography—Its History, Position, and Prospects. 159 


suffered no perceptible alteration, although the light was too 
brilliant for endurance ; but that it was blackened in six mi- 
nutes, when it was exposed, ina similar way, to the rays between 
the green and the extremity of the violet. Philosophers are 
now aware that the solar spectrum in reality consists of three 
spectra, possessing very ditferent properties, partially, but not 
uniformly, superimposed—a luminous, a calorific, and an actinic, 
photographic effects being due to the last ; and that the lumi- 
nous consists of a yellow, a red, and a blue spectrum, similarly 
superimposed. Whether the calorific and the actinic also are 
compound, our present knowledge does not enable us to decide. 
The important circumstance of the action of light on a 
salt of silver having once attracted attention, such a modifica- 
tion of the. effect as would result in a picture was but a step, 
though an important one. This step is due to the combmed 
ingenuity of Wedgewood, the son of the celebrated porcelain 
manufacturer, and Sir H. Davy, the illustrious chemist. The 
effects they produced excited admiration, but their pictures 
gradually changed into mere blackened surfaces. The know- 
ledge of one simple fact alone was required to give permanence 
to their productions; but that fact was not discovered until 
long afterwards. ‘These achievements of Wedgewood and 
Davy had been, in some degree, anticipated more than two 
centuries previously; since Habricius, in a work on metals, 
published in 1566, asserted that a lens produced on chloride of 
silver an image in which the bright parts of objects formed 
dark shadows, and their dark parts lights—that is, a “ nega- 
tive picture,” the lights and shades being reversed. Such 
were the pictures of Wedgewood and Davy, since they were 
unable to obtain a positive by transmitting the light through 
a negative. At this stage, the camera obscura naturally 
suggested itself as a valuable aid to photography ; but, when 
Wedgewood made the trial, he found that too long an exposure 
to light was required, if it was used. The solar microscope, 
however, was found to be available for the purpose; but he 
usually employed the direct rays of the sun, transmitted 
through the engraving, or other object which it was desired 
to copy. Wedgewood discovered that the chloride was more 
sensitive than the nitrate of silver, and that both were more 
sensitive in the moist than in the dry state. 
Little or no further progress was made for some time; but 

at length the grand difficulty was surmounted; Niepce and 
Daguerre succeeded in arresting the action of light. Nicephorus 
Niepce was born at Chalons-sur-Sadne, in 1765. In his early 
years he had been in the army, but in 1814 his attention was 
accidentally turned to photography. Seeking a substitute for 
lithographic stone, he observed that bitumen was rendered of 


156 Photography—tIts History, Position, and Prospects. 


a greyish colour by the action of light; and that if spread as 
a thin coating over a metallic plate, and exposed to the light, 
it was rendered soluble in essence of lavender, wherever the light 
had acted. He advanced then step by step to important 
results, Daguerre being, during the latter portion of his career, 
the partner of his researches. But he did not himself reap the 
reward of his labours, since he died in poverty in 1833, having 
dissipated his patrimony in scientific investigations. When, 
however, in 1839, the discoveries made conjointly by him 
and Daguerre were purchased by the French Government, 
and given to the world, his son was not forgotten. Louis- 
Jaques-Maudé Daguerre, a celebrated French artist, was born 
at Corneilles, in 1789. His early hfe was passed in stormy 
times, but this did not prevent him from devoting himself to 
his profession and becoming very eminent as a scenic decora- 


tor and a painter of dioramas. While attending a course of ~ 


chemistry under Charles, with the purpose of calling that 
science to the aid of his pencil, he was struck by a remark 
made by the lecturer, when he exhibited to his audience an 
image produced by means of a salt of silver— it isthe sun that 
has drawn this portrait.” Again and again Daguerre repeated 
these words to himself, but each time he was obliged to add, 
“it does not last.’ He was resolved, however, to give it 
permanence; and, in the researches he undertook for the 
purpose, availed himself of the improvements which had lately 
been made in the camera. He did not die until 1851, long 
after his labours had been crowned with success. 

The attempt to arrest the action of light had occupied: the 
attention of Niepce from 1814 to 1824, with but little result. 
Towards the close of this period, his brother, a colonel in the 
French army, while making some purchases of Chevalier, the 
eminent optician, happened to remark that Niepce had suc- 
ceeded in fixing the image produced by the camera; but 
Chevalier discrediting the assertion, paid no attention to it. 
And when, some days after, Daguerre called upon Chevalier, 
and announced a similar discovery, he looked upon it merely as 
a continuation of the same pleasantry. But at length, finding 
that Daguerre was in earnest, he gave him such information 
regarding Niepce, as produced a correspondence between the 
two experimentalists, that ended in their becoming partners ; 
and before the close of 1827 considerable progress was made 
by them in the attainment of an effective mode of fixation. 

Niepce’s object was, originally, the multiplication of images ; 
which he sought to accomplish by coating a metallic plate with 
bitumen, exposing it to the action of light, dissolving off the 
coating where the actinic influence had rendered it soluble, and 
then corroding with nitric acid those parts which had thus 


- 


a eee ee 


Photography—tIts History, Position, and Prospects. 157 


been denuded. This process was ultimately modified so as to 
be applicable to photography. Daguerre also used a metallic 
plate ; but his object was to form a single picture directly upon 
it. The last step made by Niepce was the substitution of 
iodine for a resinous coating, which diminished the time re- 
quired for exposure from hours to minutes. He died soon 
after, and his son Isidore became the partner of Niepce. In 
1839 the fruit of all their joint researches was given to the 
world. Twelve days after the Chamber of Deputies had voted 
their well earned rewards to those who may be said to have 
created photography, Daguerre lost, by’a conflagration, the 
results of all his labours as an artist; but the reputation he 
had acquired enabled him to recover from the effects of this 
calamity, and he thenceforward devoted himself to philosophy. 

At first, the Daguerreotype process was extremely slow, an 
hour being required for a portrait; but the use of bromine, 
introduced by Goddard in 1840, and of other accelerating 
materials, greatly abbreviated it. The removal of the unde- 
composed silver salt, by means of hyposulphite of soda, con- 
stituted its most important feature, as it was this which 
prevented the darkening of the picture. But Sir J. Herschel 
also discovered this important property of the hyposulphite, 
though unknown to Daguerre. ‘Ihe Daguerreotype process has, 
for several reasons, been practically abandoned. 

It is a curious circumstance that, while Niepce and 
Daguerre were occupied with their experiments, a young man 
who was quite unknown to Chevalier showed him some photo- 
graphic positives on paper, expressing his conviction that with a 
better apparatus than he possessed he would produce still greater 
results, but avowing his inability to purchase one. He left 
some of the material he had used that it might be tested by 
experiment, but neither Chevalier nor Daguerre were able to 
accomplish anything with it. He never returned, and remains 
unknown. But for his poverty he would perhaps have been 
the successful rival of Niepce and Daguerre. 

Six months before the Daguerreotype process was published, 
Fox Talbot, who had been engaged in his researches since 
1834, and had succeeded in fixing the picture, communicated 
to the Royal Society his photographic discoveries, and immedi- 
ately after made known his method of preparing sensitive paper. 
He was betrayed by one of his assistants, who sold the secret 
of his process to a photographic society at Lille, where some 
good pictures were produced by means of it. Talbot was the 
first who successfully used paper rendered sensitive with chlo- 
ride of silver. He observed not only that different papers 
similarly prepared vary in sensibility from very slight causes, 
but that some portions of the same paper, even when most 


158  Photography—Its History, Position, and Prospects. 


carefully prepared, may be found quite insensible. He claimed 
a patent right in the use of gallic acid as a most effective sensi- 
tizing agent, but Sir J. Herschel had already attempted to 
apply it to that purpose, and Read had actually succeeded in 
doing so. In 1840, Sir J. Herschel had found that photographic 
effects might be produced by means of any chemical agent 
whose constituents are not firmly combined. And, in 1841, 
Claudet discovered that certain substances possessed the 
property of imparting rapidity, that is, of diminishing the time 
required for exposure to the action of light. 

It has been asserted that Watt obtained pictures with both 
silvered plates and paper ; and specimens of photography on 
these substances, said to have been produced by him, have 
been exhibited. 

Attempts were soon made to obtain substitutes for paper, | 


which is exposed to many and serious defects, particularly ~_ 


when used for the production of negatives. M. Niepce de 
Saint Victor was very successful in this, as he has since been 
in other branches of photography. Like his uncle, the col- 
league of Daguerre, he was in the army before he became an 
experimentalist. In 1842, being a lieutenant of dragoons in 
garrison at Montauban, he amused himself with scientific 
researches. It happened that the government resolved in that 
year to change the colour which had hitherto characterized the 
uniform of the regiments of dragoons, for another. But where 
was Mareschal Soult to find the money required for this altera- 
tion? Hearing of Niepce as a young officer who was likely to 
carry out his plans with the required economy, he sent for him. 
On arriving in Paris, Niepce showed that a brush dipped in a 
certain fluid would produce the required transformation, He ° 
received five hundred francs for his ingenuity, which saved the 
government a thousand times as much, and a gracious letter. 
While in Paris, he was greatly struck by the photographs 
which met his view on every side, and, coming to the con- 
clusion that there only could he make experiments with 
full effect, he managed to have himself transferred to the 
municipal guard of that city, and established his laboratory in 
the barrack of the Faubourg St. Martin. Here he made dis- 
coveries which have inscribed his name in the annals of photo- 
graphy. In the conflagration of the barrack, after the flight 
of Louis Philippe, all his specimens and apparatus perished, | 
but he was soon more favourably circumstanced than ever. 

The provisional government made him captain of the Republican 
Guard, and, afterwards, the Emperor Napoleon appointed him 
Commandant of the Louvre. In 1847 he presented a memoir 
to the Academy of Sciences on a means of obtaining pictures 
on glass. Starch was the first substance he employed as a 


Photography—lIts History, Position, and Prospects. 159 


coating. He afterwards adopted albumen, which he preferred 
to gelatine, because less easily soluble in water. 

In 1838, Ponton, of Edinburgh, discovered the insolubility 
produced in bichromate of potash by light. In1853, Talbot found 
that organic matter in contact with it became insoluble in the 
same circumstances. In 1855, Poitevin applied this fact to litho- 
graphy. In 1859, Asser, of Amsterdam, invented the mode of 
“‘ transference,” founded on the facility with which printer’s ink 
spread on gelatinized paper, may be removed by water; and 
in the same year, Gibbons discovered a method of producing 
the picture from a negative directly on the stone. 

Many persons claim the merit of suggesting waxed paper, 
as a very transparent material for negatives. Many, also, are 
mentioned. as having first used collodion, the applicability of 
which to photography was made known simultaneously in 
France and England, in 1851. In that year, a report became 
prevalent that a clergyman of the United States, named Hill, 
had found out a means of reproducing the natural colours of 
objects. Incredible sums were realized by the sale of books, 
which appeared in succession—being paid for by the sub- 
scribers in advance, and which, it was promised, would reveal 
the important secret, but they gave no clue whatever to it. 
Various efforts were then made to obtain the desired informa- 
tion by energetic means, but without success; and the “ Hillo- 
type” sunk at length into oblivion. Nevertheless, the repro- 
duction of colour is not impossible, and ‘‘ Heliochromy” has 
already advanced so far as to constitute a recognized though, 
as yet, little more than a future branch of photography. 

We are indebted to M. Edmond Bequerel for a knowledge 
of the fact that a silver plate acquires, by immersion in a solu- 
tion of chlorine, the property of reproducing the colours of 
the spectrum. The effect, however, is but transitory; since it 
vanishes at once under the influence of white, and gradually 
under that of coloured light. Fixation, therefore, so long the 
desideratum of photography, is at present the great object of 
search in helicgraphy. But something has been done already, 
even in this direction. In 1861, Niepce de Saint Victor 
announced that, if the problem of fixation was not solved, 
there was reason to expect its solution. In his laboratory at 
the Faubourg St. Martin, he made the important discovery 
that the diferent colours give rise to absorption of the vapour 
of iodine, in different degrees. He found also that, when a 
silver plate is plunged into a solution of chlorine, the strength of 
which is regulated, any particular colour may be made to appear 
on the plate. The least possible quantity of chlorine allows the 
reproduction of yellow; progressively larger quantities, give 
green, blue, indigo, violet, red, orange—the last, appearing 


160 Ozone and Ozone Tests. 


only in a saturated solution. He observed that certain metallic 
chlorides, particularly chloride of copper and sesqui-chloride of 
iron, give coloured images still more readily than a mere 
solution of chlorine. Portraits artificially but skilfully coloured 
have been sold as the pure products of heliochromy; no coloured 
photograph has, however, as yet been produced by it. 
Photography has already become of the highest importance, 
its votaries are scattered in tens of thousands over every part of 
the world ; it has been pressed into the service of every art, 
science, and manufacture. Nor are its uses confined to the 
requirements of tranquillity and peace; it has been made a 
portion of the appliances of war, and on a rather considerable 
scale, as appears from a paper read before the Photographie 
Society of London, in December last.* The extent to which 
it has caused an increase in the consumption of chemical sub- 


stances may be conceived from the fact that, at Frankfort,. . 


during the year 1862, 5400 German pounds of the finest grain 
silver, worth 163,428 thalers (about £36,000), were devoted to the 
manufacture of nitrate of silver alone [Photographisches Archiv. 


Sep. 1863]. 


OZONE AND OZONE TESTS. 
BY E. J. LOWE, F.R.A.S., F.G.8., ETC. 


Ozone is a subject that has attracted a large amount of interest 
within the last few years. Schonbein, in making the important 
discovery of ozone in the atmosphere, added fresh work to all 
meteorological observers, and their labours have thrown some * 
light on the subject. ‘'T'o those who have no knowledge of this 
new property of the air, it may be said that, if a piece of paper 
be dipped into, or coated over, with a solution consisting of 
starch, iodide of potassium, and distilled water, dried and then 
exposed to the air, it becomes more or less coloured, according 
to the amount of ozone present at the time. Dr. Moffatt, who 
was the first to take up this subject in England, has rendered 
great service to science, and his tests have been almost univer- 
sally adopted by English meteorologists for a number of years ; 
and although an extended series of experiments has convinced 
me that the tests [ am now making are purer, and better 
adapted for a thorough insight into this chemical property of 
the air, nevertheless our warmest thanks are due to Dr. Moffatt 
for his valuable labours in this branch of science. Before turn- 
ing to ozone tests, we will say a few words on ozone itself. 


* Photographic Journal, Dec. 1863. 


: 
: 
: 
| 


Ozone and Ozone Tests. 161 


Locally it varies considerably, being most abundant near the 
sea and in high mountainous districts, and least so in cities and 
large towns. There is more ozone at Silloth, a seaport town 
in Cumberland, than in any other British station; whilst in 
Scotland the amount is very great at Braemar, a mountainous 
town near the Queen’s residence at Balmoral. On the other 
hand, at Manchester and in London very little exists. Then, 
again, there are periods with much ozone, and periods with 
scarcely any. An instance of this occurs in the month of 
January just passed; up tothe 19th scarcely any ozone was 
present, whilst from the 19th to the end of the month the 
amount was considerable. 

No doubt, circumstances act for or against the development 
of ozone, at one time augmenting the amount, and at another 
diminishing it. Chemical action increases with an increase of 
heat, and diminishes with an increase of cold ; to this cause is 
probably owing the absence, more or less, of ozone in frosty 
weather. Moisture toa certain extentis favourable to chemical 
action, yet an excess of moisture acts in the opposite direction ; 
there is less ozone with a very dry air, and still less with one 
completely saturated with moisture. It must be borne in mind 
that we frequently have the air saturated with water, whilst the 
atmosphere never approaches perfect dryness; on the driest 
days a considerable amount of water is present in the air. 
There is a striking difference in different directions of the 
wind, for there is least ozone with a N.H. wind, and most 
with one between S.W. and §.8.W.; the latter contains air 
much charged with moisture, whilst the former is more or less 
dry ; then, again, as a rule, the 8.W. wind is brisk, whilst the 
N.H. wind is sluggish. An increase in the pressure of the wind, 
which is synonymous to an increase in the velocity of the air, 
is attended with an increase in ozone, as registered on the test- 
slip ; yet it does not follow that there is an actual increase, 
because if the same amount is present to-day as yesterday, and 
if to-day the velocity of the air is five times greater than yes- 
terday, it will be apparent that five times the amount of air 
charged with ozone must pass over the test-slip, and this will, 
no doubt, increase the colour of the test. 

It seems somewhat singular, that the lower the barometer 
falls the more does ozone develop itself; that at u pressure of 
29 inches there is considerably more ozone than with one at 30 
inches. Let us consider what this difference means: when the 
barometer is at 30 inches, the air is capable of balancmg a 
column of mercury 30 inches in length, whilst when it is only 
29 it can only balance one of 29 inches; with the barometer at 
29 inches, a cubic foot of air at a temperature of 10° weighs 
about 573 grains; at 30° about 549 grains; at 50° about 526 


162 Ozone and Ozone Tests. 


grains ; at 70° about 504 grains, and at 90° about 482 grains ; 
with the barometer at 30 inches, below the freezing point, it 
will be about 20 grains heavier; at a temperature of 50°, 18 
grains heavier ; and at 90°, 162 grains heavier. Supposing the 
atmosphere to be completely saturated with moisture, the 
weight of vapour ina cubic foot of air, at a temperature of 30°, 
will be 2 grains ; at 50°, 4 grains; at 70°, 8 grains; andat 90°, 
nearly 15 grains. The amount of vapour differs, according to 
the difference between the wet and dry bulb thermometer; taking 
the greatest difference, or driest point at each temperature, the 
weight of vapour at 30° will be 1 grain; at 50°, 2 grains; at 
70°, 4 grains; and at 90°, 6 grains ; so that at least six times as 
much moisture exists in the hottest days as in the coldest; we, 


however, feel the air to be drier, because at a temperature of | 


30° only 1 grain extra is required for perfect saturation, whilst 


at 90° it would require 8 or 10 grains extra. s 


If the air were completely saturated with moisture, the 
whole amount of water in a vertical column of the atmosphere 
would be 24 inches at a temperature of 30°, and 194 inches at 
a temperature of 90°; but if the air were unusually dry, the 
amount would be 14 inches at 30°, and 10 inches at 90°. This 
little analysis of the atmosphere will give an insight into the 
subject; yet it does not afford us a clue to the reason why more 
ozone exists with the barometer low, unless we consider that, 
as wind accompanies a low state of the barometer, it is to be 
attributed to this cause alone. 

From what has now been said, it becomes evident that 
certain corrections will become necessary before the actual 
amount of ozone can be determined. 

We next come to the test used in these investigations, which \ 
was the subject of much discussion at the Cambridge meeting 
of the British Association. Great difficulty has always been 
experienced in producing tests that should all register alike ; if 
we expose those of Schonbein and Moffatt’s together, we do not 
get the same result, and even tests made by the same persons 
at two different times will also not read alike, and my investi- 
gations were with the view of finding out the cause of this. 
Commencing at the very beginning of their manufacture, it at 
once occurred to me that the starch of commerce of which they 
were made could not be sufficiently pure for such delicate ex- 
periments; in their manufacture, lime, sulphuric acid, and 
chlorine are used—substances which will themselves colour the 
tests without the aid of ozone. Place under a bell-glass a small 
cup of chloride of lime, and under another a piece of limestone, 
on which sulphuric acid has been poured, and under these glasses 
suspend an ozone test; a tew minutes will suffice to demon- 
strate this. The ordinary iodide of potassium is impure ; and 


: 
. 


Ozone and Ozone Tests. 163 


it is by no means easy to procure a proper chemically-pure 
paper ; that which was used by Dr. Moffat (ordinary writing 
paper) is very impure. 

Requiring pure starch, and uncertain what starch would 
be the best, I set about manufacturing it myself, without 
the usual aid of chemicals. The substances used were wheat, 
rice, sago, potato, arrowroot, crocus, snowdrop, tulip, narcissus, 
arum, etc.; these were reduced to powder, steeped in distilled 
water, which was constantly changed, until the pure starch 
alone remained, the result being perfectly satisfactory ; a starch 
was produced from all the above substances, which, for white- 
ness and purity, could not be surpassed. Chemically-pure 
iodide of potassium was procured, through Mr. James Glaisher, 
from Mr. Squire, of Oxford Street, made expressly for these 
experiments; one portion prepared with water, and another 
crystallized several times from alcohol. 

At the recommendation of Dr. R. D. Thomson, 15 grains of 
prepared chalk were added to every ounce of air-dried starch, 
to prevent sourness. ‘This, unfortunately, has the effect of 
diminishing the sensitiveness of the tests, yet appears requisite - 
for uniformity of effect, as the intensity of action depends much 
upon the amount of water contained in the starch. The follow- 
ing experiment will make this apparent :—A test made with 
air-dried starch showed the presence of ozone with 5 minutes’ 
exposure. Further drying by fire-heat for one minute retarded 
it to 7 minutes; 10 minutes’ drying by fire-heat retarded it to 
13 minutes ; 30 minutes’ drying by fire-heat caused the presence 
of ozone not to be seen, with less than 20 minutes’ exposure ; 
whilst the same powders merely air-dried, yet having the addi- 
tion of 15 grains of chalk to each ounce of starch, also occupied 
a 20 minutes’ exposure before ozone could be detected. 

With regard to the material used for tests, either chemi- 
cally-pwre calico or chemically-pure paper answered well; but 
ordinary writing-paper, or any other impure material, coloured 
in course of time. Some papers would be stained and useless 
in twelve hours. 

We have said that the method of ascertaining the amount 
of ozone was by means of test-slips; but, in order to ascertain 
if something more sensitive might not be substituted, I tried 
as a first experiment a mixture of 10 parts of starch to 1 of 
iodide of potassium, carefully mixed together as a dry powder 
test ; a small portion of this mixture was placed in a pill-box in 
the open air, and in the short space of ten minutes’ exposure 
it was shown that dry powder tests were an undoubted success, 
colouring well, and much more rapidly than the test-slips. 

The next determination was with regard to a proper for- 
mula—Schonbein using one of 10 parts starch to 1 of iodide of 

VOL. V.—NO. III. N 


164 Ozone and Ozone Tests. 


potassium, and Moffat another of 24 starch to 1 of iodide of 
potassium. No satisfactory reason was given why Moffat used 
so different a formula to Schonbein. It occurred to me that, if 
a number of different strengths were prepared from equal 
portions of each up to 30 parts of starch to 1 of iodide of 
potassium, that if one of these strengths was coloured sooner 
than another this should be the proper formula to adopt. 

Having mixed a number of powders of different strengths 
with wheat starch, and exposed them to the air, a very short 
exposure showed that 1 part of iodide of potassium to 5 of 
starch was soonest coloured, and gradually darkened beyond 
all other strengths ; and many repetitions of these experiments 
always gave the same results. The degree of darkness di- 
minished in either direction when other strengths were used— 
thus, even 1 of iodide of potassium to 43 of starch, or 1 to 

2, were neither so dark as with a strength of 1 to 5. It — 
became, therefore, evident that these were the proper propor- 
tions to be used with wheat starch; or, at all events, with per- 
fectly pure wheat starch, such as I had experimented upon. 
On repeating these experiments with potato starch, the propor- 
tion which coloured soonest was 1 to 24 of starch, showing that 
the formula must be based on actual experiment, and that a 
special formula is requisite for each vegetable starch. It next 
became a question as to what starch would be most sensitive ; 
and, to arrive at this, experiments were tried with tulips, crocus, 
narcissus, snowdrop, arum, etc.; and very fine starch was manu- 
factured from the bulbs of all these plants. Investigations 
which I am at the present moment engaged in, will soon Hove 
what starch will be the best to adopt. 

Further experiments were tried, with the view of determining 
the effect of various acids, etc., on the ozone tests ; andin order 
to ascertain this conclusively, two small cups were placed under 
a bell-glass—one containing an acid or other substance, and 
the other an ozone test powder. From these it was found that 
hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, nitrous acid, chloride of lime 
phosphorus, iodine in scales, iodine dissolved in alcohol, carbo. 
nate of lime, and carbonate of iron, on which an acid had been 
poured, all coloured the tests, and some most rapidly. These 
experiments also showed that a new method of investigating 
ozone had become apparent; it was found that a different 
colour was imparted to the powder, and that the powder pene- 
trated more or less deeply, according to what coloured the test : 
differences of effect took place, by which the different materials 
used might be recognized. Topinu, although it coloured to a 
brown-black, was merely a surface colouring, below which the 
powder was colourless ; Puospnorvs, a blwish-black, on the sur- 
face only ; Cutoripe or Linn, deep brown, on the surface only, 


Ozone and Ozone Tests. 165 


below which the powder was slightly yellow; HyprocHtoric 
Acip, grey pink, on the surface only, the powder beneath orange; 
Nitric Acti, dark red-brown, extending shghtly into the powder, 
beneath colourless; CarBonatE or TRon with Guactan AcETIC 
Acip, yellowish-brown, penetrating to the thickness of card- 
board, below which buff; Limzstone wire SutpHuric Act, pale- 
brown to the thickness of cardboard, beneath which slightly 
coloured ; CarBonate oF [Ron witH SuLPHurRic Acip, black to the 
depth of a quarter of an inch; Nitrous Acip, dark brown more 
than an eighth of an inch deep, beneath which yellowish-brown. 
These differences are so striking that important results must 
follow their investigation. 

The action of ozone on the powders is somewhat analogous 
to that produced by nitric acid; yet dilute nitric acid, when 
increased to ten times the strength which the French philoso- 
phers declare is the proportion present in the air, is far too 
weak to produce any colour on the tests. 

There are marked advantages in the powder tests over the 
ordinary test-slips; they are more sensitive and more rapidly | 
acted upon, and they retain their maximum colour, not fading 
afterwards, as is the case with the test-slips of Schonbein and 
Moffat. For one of Mr. Glaisher’s scientific balloon ascents I 
prepared some doubly-sensitive powder tests, which showed the 
presence of ozone in the short space of four minutes after 
leaving the earth, whilst the test-slps remained for nearly an 
hour uncoloured. 

A careful consideration of several thousand experiments 
inclines me to the belief that ozone is always present in the air, 
as on no occasion has my sensitive dry powder test failed to 
show traces of it, even at a time when the ordinary test-slips 
have remained for days uncoloured. 

Mr. Burder, of Clifton, near Bristol, has drawn attention to 
the fact that ozone is never present in a room even with the 
window open. Last autumn I carried on a series of experi- 
ments, from which the same fact was arrived at, so far as 
regards the ordinary test-slips, and this is because the air is 
more or less stagnant in doors; were these test-slips to be 
exposed out of doors whilst the air was calm or stagnant, they 
would not exhibit any signs of ozone. However, my delicate 
powder tests became faintly coloured not only with the 
window open, but in an apartment with a closed window. The 
current produced by a fire conveyed sufficient ozonized air 
across the test-powder to show the presence of a small quantity 
of ozone. 

On the completion of a second series of experiments, we 
will return to the subject. 


166 Portable Equatoreals. 


PORTABLE EQUATOREALS. 
BY WILLIAM C. BURDER, F.R.A.S. 


Ir is perhaps more important in regard to astronomical in- 
struments than to most others, that there should be in the 
minds of those who use them distinct ideas of the objects in 
view in their construction, and their capabilities and limits as 
to usefulness. 

Without such ideas, amateurs are very apt to make a false 
start, and to find themselves, consequently, obliged to return to 
their starting point, disappointed, both with their own work, 
and with the instruments which they have been attempting to 
use. Perhaps no instrument stands in need of this prefatory 
remark more than the Equatoreal, a name which probably 
conveys to the mind of the beginner an impression, in most. - 
cases, of a very different instrument from the one which his 
subsequent experience discovers it to be. ‘To the professional 
astronomer who possesses a good steady working equatoreal, 
and who has no leisure for astronomical recreation, as such, it 
is easy to imagine that the term “ portable,” applied to equa- 
toreals is by no means suggestive of pleasing associations. 
The very great difficulty experienced in constructing the larger 
sort of instruments, so as to combine great steadiness with a 
perfectly easy motion—qualities absolutely essential to their 
good performance—and the variety of causes which have a 
tendency to introduce sources of error in the working of the 
equatoreal, are reasons why the thoughts of the professional 
astronomer in reference to these instruments are likely to be 
very different from those of the amateur whose aim is astro- 
nomical amusement and instruction, rather than the advance- 
ment of the science, even in a feeble manner. The possessor 
of the portable equatoreal must consider himself happy if he 
finds his instrument a means of using an ordinary telescope to 
much greater advantage than would be possible without its aid. 
That he may do this there is not the slightest doubt. Indeed 
it is not too much to say that a simple equatoreal mounting for 
an ordinary pocket telescope multiplies its usefulness fourfold, 
or perhaps much more. We may take it for granted that 
the readers of the many interesting astronomical papers which 
have appeared in the InreLiecruan Oxserver, do not most 
of them require that many remarks should be made on the 
general principles of equatoreals; still, as there are always — 
new readers to every article, the former class will, it is hoped, 
forgive the writer if he goes somewhat over old ground in a 
few preliminary remarks, in order to make the description 
more complete to the latter class. 


Portable Equatoreals. 167° 


The equatoreal, then, is a telescope mounted in such a 
manner as to enable the observer to follow the diurnal motion 
of a celestial object by one uniform movement round an axis. 
This axis produced would necessarily touch, so to speak, the 
heavens at the pole, the altitude of which equals the latitude of 
the place. Any method by which the observer can readily 
place this axis in such a position as to point to the pole in the 
heavens will place his instrument in adjustment and ready 
therefore for use ; but in practice this is not so easy a matter 
as ib might at first sight appear to be. In order that the 
telescope shall be correctly pointed to an object, the declination 
or north polar distance of the object must be known, and the 
index set to the proper division. The movement on the axis 
referred to will then be sufficient to ensure the telescope’s 
following that object by the axial motion already referred to 
without again touching the motion for declination. A little 
consideration will show such matters very clearly. This di- 
urnal axial motion is performed by a clock in the larger equa- 
toreals, so that the declination circle being once set, the object 
remains in the field of view as long as it is above the horizon, 
without any further help from the observer. Of course this is 
on the assumption that the declination of the object in question 
does not itself change during the interval. The clockwork move- 
ment is a luxury which the possessor of the portable equa- 
toreal must not hope to realize. He must be satisfied to move 
his instrument by hand, but when once he has carefully set the 
declination-circle he will find the following of the object by 
the one motion only, even by hand, a very great advantage 
compared with the “fishing” kind of use of the telescope 
which is necessary in other cases. 

Several years ago the writer amused himself by trying to 
find out the simplest kind of construction capable of converting 
an ordinary pocket telescope into a portable equatoreal. The 
result is described in Recreative Science. The two movements 
used in the construction of that very useful little thing, 
a brass “ clip,” with an iron screw at its base to enable the 
observer to secure his telescope to a post, tree, window-sash, etc., 
with perfect steadiness, being the same in principle as those of the 
large equatoreals, suggested the using of such clip equatoreally. 
To do this it was necessary to graduate the two little circles 
where the motion is visible. There was some difficulty in this, 
but the labour was well bestowed, and the result was perfectly 
satisfactory. Thirteen years’ occasional use of the instrument 
has quite proved this. It never fails in enabling the observer 
to find an object in the field of view by day or night. But it 
is in the daytime when the little instrument desires to display 
its powers most, when an object is found by it which could not 


168 Portable Hquatoreals. 


be found by the fishing process, and found at once by the 
setting of the circles, without touching the eye-piece end of 
the telescope. j 

Perhaps it may not be uninteresting to give an account of 
the performance of the writer’s portable instrument on one 
particular occasion, when all circumstances combined to display 
it to the best advantage. The writer was desirous of proving 
the capabilities of the Portable Equatoreal in the presence of 
an astronomical authoress, well-known to the readers of the 
INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER—one whose works prove her to be pecu- 
liarly well qualified to appreciate any imstrument calculated to 
illustrate the recreative character of the science. An opportunity 
occurring for showing the working of the instrument to several 
persons, among whom was the Hon. Mrs. Ward, one magnificent 
morning in July, 1859, the telescope and clip were placed in a 


small carpet bag, and a ticket was taken, vid Midland Railway, 


to a delightful rural spot in Gloucestershire. The place bemg 
quite new to the writer, and the latitude and longitude differing 
from what had been adopted for the adjustment of the instru- 
ment at Clifton, so as entirely to throw out of the field of view 
any object sought without taking this difference into account— 
and there being no land mark previously determined for a south 
point, etc., made the occasion a good test of the capabilities of 
the instrument, and one which all present appreciated. The 
first. step was to obtain a south mark. Tor this purpose, the 
sun, a watch, and the hour-circle of the clip placed horizontally, 
furnished the necessary materials. Making the requisite cal- 
culation for longitude, and taking an azimuth from the sun— 
previously calculated for several intervals from noon in case of 
need—I obtained a mark. A stick placed in the ground 
answered the purpose. ‘The equatoreal was placed on a table on 
the lawn. One word by way of explanation of the azimuth, 
for the beginner. The time being known, the distance in 
degrees from the south, of a point in the horizon which is cut 
by a plumb-line held so as to bisect the sun, becomes known, 
and thus the south point is obtained by calculation. It is to be 
remembered that all this is for placing the instrument in a state 
of adjustment so that the axis may point to the pole as pre- 
viously stated. 

On the occasion referred to, the problem given was to find 
Venus in broad daylight, by means of the graduated little 
circles before mentioned. I now look at my watch, and having 
previously calculated how many degrees from her meridian 
passage Venus will be by the time that I have completed my 
adjustments, I set the telescope to the proper declination and 
distance from south corresponding to such interval from her me- 
ridian passage, and predict that at such and such a minute she 


Portable Equatoreals. 169 


will be in the field of view. On this occasion I might have been 
forgiven if a blunder had taken place, as it is much more diffi- 
cult to avoid such awkward result when any effort is made 
to sustain a conversation and calculate at the same time; but 
luck favoured me, and having set the instrument, I had the 
pleasure of requesting that the authoress to whom I have 
referred should look through the telescope at once before I 
had done so, so as to make the performance of the equatoreal 
the more satisfactory. And there was the planet sure enough, 
and, as luck would have it, very near the centre of the field. 
I say luck as to this, because the instrument does not profess 
to do so much, although I may say that if care be taken in the 
adjustments, the object 1s always nearer to the centre than to 
the edges of the field. J canassure the reader that on this fine 
summer’s day so successful an exhibition of the instrument 
under such agreeable circumstances was areal treat to me; 
and I have no doubt that any enthusiastic amateur who may 
happen to read this account will be able to imagine the satis- 
faction I felt. As a still more severe test of the instrument, 
but one which I did not quite like to risk first, I afterwards 
found Arcturus in the same manner. As the power used 
was only 20, and the diameter of the object-glass 1} inch 
only, there was a risk of not seeing stars, which, of course, 
even first magnitudes, are extremely faint in broad daylight. 
But if Venus be not found, it may always be taken for 
granted that she is not in the field of view, unless, indeed 
she is very near the sun, or the sky is at all hazy. Under a 
clear atmosphere Jupiter can easily be seen also in broad 
daylight, and Saturn when the daylight has only very slightly 
declined. 

I have probably said enough to show that the portable 
equatoreal is an instrument of a most recreative kind. But 
it is more. It is really very wseful. By means of it, for 
linstance, a comet whose R A. and N. Pp. D. are known may be 
found very much earlier than with an ordinary telescope. ‘The 
instrument being set to a certain position, a comet may be seen 
in strong twilight, when the chances would be greatly against 
finding it by an instrument not graduated, At first view, it 
may strike some readers as a very rough kind of thing not to 
have circles graduated so as to be certain to a quarter of a 
degree; but two considerations will enable the reader to view 
this in a very different light. The first is, that the circles gra- 
duated are less than one inch in diameter and divided by hand 
(of course this would be better done by machine); and 
the second is, that the resultant error may be the accwmu- 
lation of several errors in adjusting the instrument, all which 
adjustments are necessarily rough. I will here remark, in answer 


170 =On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 


to objections on the ground of the smallness of the circles, that 
any increase in the diameter of these circles destroys to that 
extent the compactness and portability of the “clip”; in fact, 
the great end in view, that of making the portable little piece 
of mechanism which goes by that name, answer many really 
useful purposes, besides those originally contemplated im its 
construction—at the same time without interfermg with its 
own original capabilities—would not be attained if the diameter 
of the circles were materially increased. 

I will finish my description by noticimg another advantage 
of the instrument—that of an unattached day-finder for a larger 
instrument. When once the object, such as Venus or Jupiter, 
is in the field of the small equatoreal, a large instrument may 
be directed to such object ‘with great ease. My plan is as 


follows :—Make the outside edges of the two telescopes — 


sensibly parallel, by eye, and, by means of an instrument con- 
sisting of a level and graduated arc, make the inclination of 
both to the horizon the same. After a few seconds employed 
in doing this, the object will be found in the larger instrument. 
Some years ago I found this plan most convenient in directing 
a large reflector, 12 imches diameter, to Venus, Jupiter, and 
Saturn, when it would have been hopeless to attempt to find 
them by ordinary means.* 


ON THE ANCIENT LAKE HABITATIONS OF 
SWITZERLAND. 


BY HENRY WOODWARD, F.Z.S8. 
(With a Tinted Plate.) 


TuE evidence of the high antiquity of man has long occupied 
the earnest attention of scientific men, and has of late attracted 
the notice of educated people generally. 

The reason for this will be found in the number and im- 
portance of the discoveries made of late years in localities as 
widely separated as Ireland and Switzerland, France and Den- 
mark, England and Belgium. 

These discoveries include :— 

I. Oval and spear-shaped flint implements of a rude but 
uniform type, occurring in “ drift-gravels” in the valleys of the 
Seine and Somme, in France; the Ouse and the Waveney, in 
England, ete., etc., associated with the remains of extinct 
species of elephants and other pachyderms, etc. 

II, Human remains and implements, with horns, bones, and 


‘ 


* Horne ond |Thornthwaite’s ‘ Star Finder” is an elegant instrument for this 
purpose,—Ep, 


IMPLEMENTS AND ORNAMENTS 


of the Bronze and Stone Periods, from the Swiss Lake Dwellings 
One-third nat. size. Drawn from Specimens in the British Museum, 
(except No. 4, which is after M. Troyon’s figure.) 


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On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. Vat 


teeth of extinct animals, in caverns near Torquay, Devonshire ; 
Liégé, Belgium ; and many localities in France and Germany. 

ITI. Shell-mounds, or “ kitchen-refuse heaps’’ (Kjokken- 
modding), containing flmt implements and other reliques, 
and bones of various animals, birds, and fish, found almost 
everywhere along the Danish coast. 

IV. Works of art, of three distinct epochs, in the Danish 
peat-mosses. 

V. Artificial islands (Crannoges), with abundance of animal 
remains, and works of art from the Irish lakes and peat bogs. 

VI. “ Pile-works” (Pfahlbauten) of the Swiss lakes. 

The last-mentioned of these discoveries is so interesting, 
that I purpose to give a brief résumé of the facts and results 
for the information of those who may not have read the various 
details, published elsewhere.* 

The objects figured in the engraving} are (with one excep- 
tion) exhibited in the British room of the British Museum, 
and are selected from the small but choice collection obtained 
in part through the kind exertions of the Honourable Admiral 
Harris, H.B.M. Minister at Berne, and in part presented by 
Colonel Schwab, of Bienne. 7 

I shall refer to them in the course of my narrative, and 
give a list of objects at the end. The collection represents no 
fewer than twelve localities, and seven different lakes. 

The Swiss fishermen and boatmen had frequently observed, 
during calm weather, what appeared to them to be the clus- 
tering collections of erect stems of trees, from ten to twenty 
feet beneath the surface, in the clear waters of the lakes, which 
were supposed to be remains of submerged forests. They 


* The writer begs to express his thanks to his friend, Mr. John Evans, F.S.A., 
F.G.S., etc., and to his colleague, Mr. A. W. Franks, F.S.A., etc., of the Depart- 
ment of Antiquities, who have kindly assisted him with valuable information- 
suggestions, and advice. Those who desire a more full account are referred 
to the following works, to which the writer begs to acknowledge himself indebted 
for much information and most of his facts :— 

“The Ulster Journal of Archzology,” 1859, Belfast, vol. vii., No. 27, pp. 
179—194. [A translation of a paper by M. Fred. Troyon, on Swiss Lake Dwell- 
ings, and an Account of Irish Crannoges.] “ Archeologia,” London, 1860, 
vol. xxxviii., p. 177: W. M. Wylie, M.A., on Lake Dwellings of the Early Periods. 
“ Natural History Review,” 1862, vol. ii.: J. Lubbock on the Ancient Swiss Lake 
Dwellings, ete. Lyell, “ Antiquity of Man,” London, Noy. 1863. Troyon, Fred., 
“ Habitations Lacustres,” Lausanne, 1860, 8vo. Keller, Dr. Fred. “‘ Die Pfahl- 
bauten,” in Mittheilungen Der Antig. Gesellschaft, Zurich, Bd. xii, 1858, 
and B, xiii., 1860. Riitimeyer, Dr. L. “Untersuchung der Thierreste aus den 
Pfahlbauten der Schweiz,” in ditto, Bd. xiii, 1860, Keller, Dr. F., “ Keltischen 
Pfahlbauten in den Schweizerseen,” Zurich, 1854. Herodotus, lib. v., cap. 16. 
_“ Tilustrated Catalogue of the Museum of Royal Irish Academy, Dublin,” by Mr. 
W. R. Wilde, M.K.I.A., on “Crannoges.” M. Morlot, “ Legon d’Ouverture 
dun cours sur la haute Antiquité fait a l’Académie de Lausanne.” 

+ The original drawing was most carefully prepared from the specimens, by 
my friend, Mr. J. Dinkel, of Oakley Square. 


172 On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 


were noticed to run in a parallel direction with the shore, and 
about 100 yards distant from it; but no investigation of 
their true nature was made until 1853. 

In consequence of the dryness of the winter of 1853-4, the 
Swiss lakes and rivers sank lower than had ever been pre- 
viously known; and the inhabitants of Meilen, on the Lake of 
Zurich, availed themselves of the opportunity to recover a piece 
of ground from the lake, by raising its level with mud taken 
from the neighbouring shallows. Whiist excavating, they dis- 
covered a number of wooden piles, deeply driven into the bed 
of the lake, formed of the stems of oaks, beech, birch, and fir 
trees. The mud among these piles contained a great mass of 
reliques, consisting of numerous bones of animals, all of which 
had been cut, broken, or gnawed, and the marrow extracted ; 


hammers, corn-crushers, a great variety of axes and celts, of . . 


various kinds of stone, many of which were fitted into hafts of 
stag’s-horn. Flint implements were also numerous, which is 
the more remarkable, as flint-is rarely found in that country. 
Large slabs of stone, which had been used as hearth-stones, 
were also noticed. One amber bead was found, which, it is 
supposed, must have been brought from the shores of the 
Baltic. One or two hatchets and wedges of jade have also 
been met with, the material for which, it has been asserted, 
could only have been obtained from the Hast. But it seems 
much more probable that both these substances were occa- 
sionally, although very rarely, found in Switzerland or the 
south of France, rather than (as has been proposed by some 
archzeologists) to suggest that this ancient race trafficked ‘with 
northern and eastern tribes to obtain axes of jade or ornaments 
of amber. Pottery occurred in abundance, but always in a very 
fragmentary state. It was hand-made, and of a rude and 
coarse description. Masses of charred wood, apparently parts 
of the platform of the building, were abundant. Indeed, it was 
evident that not only this settlement, but the great majority of 
those subsequently found, perished by fire. Since the first 
discovery of pile-works at Meilen, the Swiss archeologists have 
displayed untiring industry in exploring fresh localities, and 
not only in lakes Constance, Geneva, Neuchatel, Bienne,* 
Zurich, Morat, Sempach, but also in the smaller lakes of 
Inkwijl, Pfeffikon, Moosseedorf, and Luissel, similar lake- 
dwellings have been discovered. 

The earliest pile-works, those belonging to the Stone age, 
present a very rude appearance, the stakes having been sharp- 
ened by stone hatchets, assisted by fire. Fire was, no doubt, 

* Eleven settlements have been found on the Lake of Bienne, twenty-six on 


the Lakeof Neuchatel, twenty-four on the Lake of Geneva, and sixteen on the 
Lake of Constance. 


On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 173 


also used to assist in cutting down the trees in the first in- 
stance, and the timber has all been split by means of wedges. 

After the necessary rows of piles had been driven, these 
were strengthened by cross-beams, which supported the wooden 
platform upon which the huts were constructed. These cabs 
‘were mostly circular in form. <A singular evidence of this is 
derived from the discovery of curved pieces of clay, with which 
the interior had been plastered. 

Their preservation is due to the hardening action of the 
fires within the hut, and also to the ultimate destruction of 
the settlement by a conflagration. These pieces of burnt clay 
also bear the impression of interlaced twigs upon their outer 
surface, thus indicating that the walls were constructed of 
wattle’ lined with clay. 

Portions, apparently, of the thatched roofs are also not 
uncommon. In Prof. Keller’s restorations both round and 
square huts are represented, similar forms of cabins being in 
use among the papoos of New Guinea at the present day.* 

Some of these pile-works were of very considerable extent. 
For example, the settlement at Morges, on the Lake of Geneva, 
was 1200 feet long and 150 broad, thus giving a surface of 
180,000 square feet. At Wangen alone, on the Lake of Constance, 
M. Lohle has estimated that 40,000 piles were employed, pro- 
bably representing the labours of several generations. M. 
Troyon and others have made several calculations, with a view 
to ascertain the probable population of these villages. Thus 
estimating the cabins at fifteen feet in diameter,} and allowing 
half the area of the platform for gangways between the dwell- 
ings, it would give for Morges 311 cabins, which, at four per- 
sons for each cabin, would give a population for the settlement 
of 1244: whilst for the settlements upon the Lake of Neuchatel 
it would give a population of about 5000. 

These lake dwellings are most admirably separated chrono- 
logically by the remains of works of art included in the mud 
around the pile-works. 

The earliest undoubtedly belong to the Stone age (as it has 
been named), when metals of any kind were wholly unknown, 
all the weapons found being made either of stone or of the 
bones and horns of animals. To this epoch belong Wauwyl 
and Robenhausen, on Lake Pfeffikon, Wangen, on Lake Con- 
stance, and the settlement of Moosseedorf. 


* Dumont d’'Urville, “ Voyage de l’Astrolabe.” Paris, 1833. Tome IV., p. 607. 


+ Here again the pieces of burnt clay have done good service, Ge 

for the smallest segment, if only sufficient to indicate the curve, {---45.FE-~-- 

will give the size of the circle with certainty. , i ¥ 
= dl 


174 On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 


The next series represent the age of Bronze. Here orna- 
ments and weapons, often of high artistic merit, are found, and the 
other remains indicate the knowledge of useful arts, as spinning, 
and the manufacture of a higher class of probably wheel-turned 
pottery. This era is represented by the settlements of Meilen, 
Bienne, Concise,* and many others. Lastly, at Auvernier, in 
the Lake of Neuchatel, and at the Steinberg, in the Lake of 
Bienne, a few weapons of iron have even been met with. 

The distance from the shore at which the piles were driven 
appears to have been regulated by the nature of the bottom 
of the lake and the depth of the water. Some few could evi- 
dently have been reached only by a boat; but most of them 
appear to have been connected with the land by means of a 
narrow gangway supported on piles, a portion at least of which 
could be readily removed, so as to insure security from the. 
attacks of bears or wolves during the night, or as a means of 
defending themselves against the hostile raids of neighbouring 
and more powerful races. 

Many canoes have been discovered, associated with the 
Swiss pile-works, each made of a single tree, and measuring 
forty to fifty feet in length, and three to four feet in width, the 
interior hollowed out by stone hatchets, aided by fires. Similar 
canoes are still used, both upon the rivers of Western Africa 
and North and South America; and one of my German friends 
tells. me he has frequently crossed both lakes and rivers in 
Bavaria in such a boat, called an einbéwm. THarly British and 
Irish canoes were likewise of the same pattern, according to 
Professor Wm. King, and were used in the latter country so 
lately as two centuries ago. 

Herodotus (lib. v., cap. 16) gives an account of a race 
called Paconians, inhabiting pile-dwellings (s.c. 520) in Lake 
Prasias, in Thrace (now part of modern Roumelia). 

Each cabin had a trap-door opening on to the lake, in 
which fish was so abundant, that it was only necessary to lower 
a basket by a cord into the water, and haul it up again, and it 
was found to be filled with fish. When their country was 
invaded by the Persians, they retired to them impregnable lake 
habitations with their horses and cattle, subsisting upon fish, 
and so defied the invader. That horses would eat fish at all, 
might at first seem incredible; but my late colleague, Mr. 
Adam White (of the Zoological Department), has recorded, in 
his Natural History of Animals (p. 28), that “ both cows and 

onies in Shetland readily eat fish-heads in winter!” so that 
bsrodbas was probably correct in his statement. 

They made the first platform at the public expense ; but 


* Meilen, on Lake Zurich, and Concise, on the Lake of Neuchatel, appear to 
have been inhabited in both the Stone and Bronze periods. 


\ 


On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 175 


subsequently, at every marriage (and polygamy was customary), 
the bridegroom was required to add three piles to the structure. 

- These habitations, reared upon the bosom of the lake with 
so much patient industry, unaided by any of those modern 
inventions which make labour light, were not only intended 
for places of safe retreat during hostile times, but were also 
used by each community as their constant place of abode, and 
all the relics exhumed tell of regular every-day life and perma- 
nent occupation. 

From the position of these lacustrine dwellings, we should 
have predicted that they were inhabited by a race of fisher- 
men. ‘The account given by Herodotus of the Paeonians, and 
the discovery of fish-hooks and pieces of nets, and abundance 
of fish bones beneath the pile-works, fully confirms this opinion. 
But the ancient Helvetii were by no means dependent upon 
the waters alone for their daily food; they hunted and shot the 
smaller game with bows and arrows, and probably took the 
larger in pitfalls, as the Zulu Kaffirs do at the present day. 
In these pursuits they were, from the earliest times, accom-. 
panied by man’s first and most faithful friend, the dog. 

The bones of no fewer than thirty-two animals (most of which 
were used as food) have been discovered in the various pile-works 
of the Swiss lakes, and determined by Prof. Riitimeyer.* That 
able zoologist has also recorded the occurrence of the bones of 
eighteen species of birds, eight fishes, and two reptiles (these 
last are the edible frog and the freshwater tortoise ; the latter 
now quite extinct in Switzerland). But, as I have already 
stated, the earliest of these Swiss settlements indicates a later 
Stone period than that of the valley of the Somme. No trace 
of the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, hyzena, cave bear, 
or lion (all of which appear to have co-existed with the makers 

_of the flint implements of the earliest Stone period) have been 
found here; but the urus and bison, the elk and the red-deer, 
were no mean cattle; and for carnivora, they had to contend 
with the brown bear, the wolf, the fox, and half-a-dozen smaller 
denizens of the forest; whilst the fierce wild boar, and the 
scarcely less formidable marsh boar, also abounded in the 
woods and lowlands. ‘These animals not only supplied them 
with food, but their bones and teeth were afterwards converted 
into weapons and ornaments of various kinds; the horns of the 
deer serving as hafts for stone implements, and the bones for 
pins, augers, chisels, and gouges (see plate and description) ; 
whilst their skins were doubtless used as articles of dress, etc. 
Nor was agriculture entirely unknown. Of this we find most 
conclusive evidence in the carbonized remains of wheat and 


* Of these, eight appear to have been domesticated, viz., the dog, pig, horse, 
ass, goat, sheep, and two species of oxen. 


176 = On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 


barley, several bushels of the former cereal having been found 
at Wangen, the grains adhering together im large masses. Ears 
of barley are also numerous. 

Carbonized cakes of unleavened bread, and the round stones 
used in grinding the corn, have also been found here, and may 
be seen in the collection. No agricultural implements, except 
sickles of bronze, have yet been discovered ; their other instru- 
ments of tillage were doubtless made of wood. 

The uncultivated fruit-trees of the forest supphed them 
abundantly with apples and pears, wild plums, prunes, hazel- 
nuts, and beech-nuts, great abundance of the stones and shells 
of which, and also seeds of the. raspberry and blackberry, are 
found in the mud around their dwellings. The apples are 
often found cut in two, and apparently dried for winter use, as 
is the custom in America at the present day. 


Seeds of the water caltrop (Trapa natans), now almost — 


extinct in Switzerland, are met with, and are believed to have 
been used as articles of food. The fibres of flax and hemp 
have also been found applied to useful purposes, such as cords, 
netting, and woven fabrics for clothing. (See list of specimens 
in collection.) 

Professor Rutimeyer’s examination of the remains of animals 
obtained from the various settlements, has led to the most 
interesting conclusions respecting the modes of life of their 
occupants. For example, in the oldest settlements, those of 
the Stone age, such as Wanwyl and Moosseedorf, the remains 
of the stag predominate over the ox, and the goat over the 
sheep, the wild boar over the domestic hog, the fox over 
the dog; whilst at Bienne and Meilen, settlements of the 
' Bronze age, the dog predominates over the fox, the domestic 
hog over the wild boar, the sheep over the goats. Lastly, at 
the Steinberg (which I have already mentioned as a settlement 
that lasted down to the introduction of iron), we find numerous 
bones of the horse, an animal whose remains are eatremely rare 
in the earlier settlements. Thus, the Stone age may be said 
to represent the epoch of the hunter ; the Bronze, the pastoral 
age; whilst the commencement of the Iron age probably wit- 
nessed the demolition of the latest pile-works, and was to the 
Swiss lake-dwellers a time of invasion, conquest, and ultimate 
destruction by a foreign and more powerful race. 

Of their religious superstitions we know little. That they 
eat foxes and eschewed the hare seems proved by the frequent 
occurrence of foxes’ bones, and the discovery of but one soli- 
tary bone of the hare up to the present time.* Col. Schwab 

* Such a superstition still prevails among the Laplanders at the present day. 
The Russians even refuse to eat it! This aversion to the hare is also noticed 
by Julius Cesar, in his Commentaries (lib. y., cap. xii.), as existing among the 
ancient Britons. 


On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 177 


has discovered a great number of crescents made of earthen- 
ware (measuring about one foot across, from horn to horn), 
compressed at the sides, and sometimes ornamented. 

They were probably affixed to the summit of their circular 
huts. Dr. Keller considers them religious emblems, and to 
be evidence of moon-worship. The remains of the mistletoe 
have also been found. This parasitic plant has always been 
associated with religious rites from the earliest times. 

Notwithstanding the profusion of bones of animals in the 
Swiss pile-works, the occurrence of human remains is extremely 
rare, which would seem to indicate, that although the confla- 
grations by which the settlements had been destroyed at various 
periods had been sudden and overwhelming, yet the inhabitants 
had always managed to escape with their lives, in boats or 
otherwise. 

Only one skull of the early Stone period, dredged up from 
Meilen, on the Lake of Zurich, has yet been examined with 
care. Of this, Prof. His observes, that it clearly resembles in 
form the skull of the race at present prevailing in Switzerland, 
which is intermediate between the long-headed and short- 
headed form. 

The duration of time occupied by the epochs just described 
must naturally be very great, to allow changes so important 
_ as those we have indicated gradually to take place. In Den- 
mark each period is marked by a complete change in the forest 
trees of the country. The Scotch fir, the oak, and the beech- 
tree, have each covered the land, and each in turn has died out, 
and been replaced by its successor—a process requiring many 
tens of centuries to effect. 

The Swiss archeologists and geologists have endeavoured, 
by a very careful series of calculations, to estimate definitely 
the periods of time and relative antiquity of the Stone and 
Bronze ages. The calculations of M. Morlot are based upon an 
examination of the delta formed by a torrent, known as the 
Tiniére, which falls into the Lake of Geneva, near Villeneuve. 
This delta was laid open by a railway cutting 1000 feet long 
and 32 feet deep, and its structure throughout displayed such 
regularity, as to imply that it had been formed very gradually, 
and by the uniform action of the same causes. 

Three layers of vegetable soil have been exposed, each of 
which must at one time have formed the surface of this cone- 
shaped deposit. They are regularly inter-laminated among 
the gravel, and exactly parallel to one another, as well as to the 
present curved surface of the cone. The first of these ancient 
deposits was traced over a surface of 15,000 square feet, at a 
depth of about four feet. This layer, which was from four to 
six inches in thickness, belonged to the Roman period, and 


178 On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 


contained Roman tiles, and also a coi. The second layer 
was followed over an area of 25,000 square feet, at a depth of 
ten feet from the surface, and had a thickness of six inches. 
It is referred to the Bronze epoch, for in it was found several 
fragments of unvarnished pottery, and a pair of bronze tweezers. 
The third layer was traced for 35,000 square feet, at a depth of 
nineteen feet, and was six to seven inches in thickness. In it 
were found a human skeleton, with a small, round, and very 
thick skull, some fragments of very rude pottery, some pieces 
of charcoal, and some broken bones. 

M. Morlot, assuming the Roman period (indicated by the 
first layer) to represent an antiquity of from sixteen to eighteen 
centuries, assigns to the second layer, representing the Bronze 
age, an antiquity of 3800 years, and 6400 years for the third 
layer of the Stone age. 


The second case 1s afforded by a settlement found buried im 


peat at the foot of Mount Chamblon, 5500 feet from the present 
margin of the Lake of Neuchatel. The Roman City of 
Eburodunum (Yverdon) was built on a dune extending from 
Jorat to the Thiele. Between this dune and the lake, on the 
site at present occupied by the city of Yverdon, no trace of 
Roman antiquities has ever been discovered, from which it is 
argued that the waters of the lake washed the walls of the 
ancient Castrum Eburodense. 


If then 2500 feet have been uncovered in 1500 years, 


M. Troyon infers that 8300 years must have elapsed since 
the pile-dwellings at Chamblon were left dry. As this 
settlement belonged to the Bronze period, the date arrived 
at agrees very well with that obtained from the delta of the 
Tiniére. 

I have only described the construction of the most usual form 
of Swiss pile work ; that in which the platform is fixed to the tops 
of the piles at a sufficient elevation above the lake to secure the 
habitations against a sudden rising of the waters. But at 
Wauwyl, in Lucerne,* the platform consisted of rive LAYERS of 
round timbers securely united together with interlaced branches 
of trees and the interstices filled with clay. No fastening of any 
kind could be discovered to connect the piles with this massive 
platform, and it would seem, from a close and careful examina- 
tion, that the rows of piles only served to retain it in its place, 
the platform itself floating upon the surface of the water and 
rising and falling with it. 


Again, at the Steinberg, in the Lake of Bienne, an arti- — 


ficial island has been formed by collecting a mass of round 


* See Dr. Keller’s Memoir, Zurich, 1860 (p. 73), already quoted, for 
M. Suter’s description of this remarkable settlement of the Stone period, r 


. 
. 


On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 179 


stones,* which are kept together by means of planks of wood, 
and a circle of piles driven vertically around the mound which 
is now considerably beneath the present surface of the lake, 
owing to a supposed rise in the level of the waters. And, 
lastly, a small island in the little Inkwyl Lake exactly reproduces 
the crannoge which I have mentioned already as so frequently 
occurring in the lakes of Ireland. Of these crannoges, which 
are sufficient of themselves to form the subject of a separate 
paper, I will only remark that no fewer than forty-six have been 
discovered and described, from which remains of the Stone, 
Bronze, and Iron Age have been obtained. They are frequently 
referred to in the early annals of the country so far back as the 
ninth century, and have been used as strongholds and refuges 
by petty chiefs, rebels, marauders, and freebooters, down to the 
close of the seventeenth century. They are extremely rich in 
reliques, but little has yet been done in systematically examining 
and separating their very miscellaneous contents. 

I have been informed that the Royal Irish Academy is 
about to take active measures to harvest this rich field of archzo- 
logical treasures. 

Lake-dwellings have been noticed as having existed in several 
parts of Asia. Ina series of bas-reliefs found at Kouyunjik 
in the palace of Sennacherib, are represented the conquests of 
the Assyrians over a tribe who inhabited a marshy region ; 
in one of these slabst we see represented several small artificial 
islands (formed apparently by wattling together the branches 
and twigs of the willows which grew in the marshes, and erecting 
a platform), in which are sheltered five or six people. Mr. Layard 
has conjectured that these slabs represent the conquests of 
the Assyrians over the inhabitants of the lower part of .the 
Euphrates. 

That lake-dwellings will yet be discovered in England is 
highly probable. The fens of Cambridge and Lincolnshire and 
the meres and broads of Norfolk seem ready to reward the 
explorer. I will give a single instance in point. In draining a 
mere near Wretham Hall, Thetford, Norfolk, numerous posts of 
oak-wood, shaped and pointed by human art, were found 
standing erect, entirely buried in the peat. At a depth of from 
five to six feet from the surface were found some very large 
antlers’ of the red deer, several of which, with the skulls 
attached, had been sawn off, just above the brow-antlers.§ 


* A canoe, laden with stones, was actually found near this spot, having 
apparently capsized and sunk during the period when the Steinberg was in 
course of construction. It is one of the largest known, and measures filty feet in 
length and three and a half feet in width. 

+ Engraved in the Monuments of Nineveh, second series, pl. 25. 

_ { See Nineveh and Babylon, 1853, p. 584. 
§ See Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 1856, yol. xii. p. 356. 


VOL. V.—NO. III. 0 


180 On the Ancient Lake Hubitations of Switzerland. 


Let me, in conclusion, caution the readers of this journal 
against the grave error of supposing that, because an era of 
civilization is well-marked and wide-spread, that, therefore it 
was contemporaneous throughout the area in which it is known 
to have prevailed. In proof of this I need only remark that 
pile-works are in fashion now-a-days among the Papoos; that 
the einbawm still floats on many a lake and river; and that, not- 
withstanding all the efforts of Birmingham and Sheffield, the 
Fuegian and Andaman Islanders have to-day eaten their 
dinner with the aid of stone cutlery. So true is it, that “man, _ 
placed under analogous circumstances, acts in an analogous 
manner, irrespective of time and locality.’’* 


EXPLANATION OF PiaTE.—Fig. 1. Stone axe of Serpentine ; 
Concise, Lake of Neuchatel. 2. Stone axe, fitted into haft of . 
stag’s horn; Robenhausen, Lake of Pfeffikon. 3. Haft of 
stag’s horn, with projecting wing, which rests against the 
handle of wood, in which a square hole has been cut to receive 
the shaft. [The handle itself is a fac-simile of one found at 
Concise, Neuchatel.] 4. Flimt saw, formed of a flake of flint: 
fixed into a groove in a wooden handle with a cement of black 
mastic. [Copied from M. Troyon’s Habitations Lacustres, 
Pl. v. f. 11.+] 5. Awl of bone, formed of the Ulna of Cervus 
Elaphus ; Moosseedorf. 6. Gouge, or chisel, formed of meta- — 
carpal bone of deer; Wangen, Constance. 7. Long slender 
pin, made of metatarsal bone of deer; Moosseedorf. 8. Bronze 
knife blade ; Cortaillod, Lake of Neuchatel. 9. Spear head 
of bronze; Nidau Steinberg, Lake of Bienne. 10! Long 
slender bronze celt; Mieclen, Lake of Zurich. 11. Ornamented 
armlet of bronze; Cortaillod, Lake of Neuchatel. 12 and 12a. 
terra-cotta whorl, used in spinning with the distaff; Cor- 
taillod, Lake of Neuchitel. 13. Bronze pin, ornamented with 
circles ; (probably worn in the hair); Cortaillod, Lake of 
Neuchatel. 

List or Srecimmns from the Swiss lake dwellings in the 
British Antiquities’ Room, British Museum :— 
Abbreviations.—-Moosseedorf (M.), Robenhausen (R.), Wangen (W.), Concise (C.) 


VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. Two-rowed Barley, in ear, Hordeum 
Seeds of Flax Linum usitatissimum, R.| disticum - . . . 1. w . 
» Raspberry, Rubus ideus, W. & M.| Hazel Nuts, Corylus avellana . M 
» Blackberry, 2. fruticosus, W. & M.| Beech Nuts, Fagus sylvatica M. 
» Water caltrop, Trapa natans, M. | Seeds, etc., of Apple, Pyrus malus, M. 
Wheat (clean), Triticum sativum Apples split and dried for winter 
WV GE me. Vode Vile ed nopae. Oy. 
Six-rowed Barley, in ear, Hordeum Leaves, ete., of the Mistletoe, Visewm 
hexastichon . « « «© « aT! calbte oS ath, ORR gOD ho ee 
* TF. Troyon, lib. eit. 
+ M. Troyon remarks that such flint saws are used by the Oceanic races in 
the manufacture of stone implements at the present day. 


On the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 


Specimens of Woods used in the pile- 
.works, White Birch, Betula alba, M. 
Pine, Pinus, sp. 


FABRICS. 


Fragment of Fishing Net made of 
Hemp? meshes 2 inches square. R. 

Fragment of Coarse Fringe of a Dress, R. 
», Coarse Woven Fabric . 
» Fabric plaited by Hand : 
5, Cord made of Willow Bark 
» Burnt Bread, or Cake . : 

Piece of Yew Tree, with cuts of a 
stone axe ov #8 

Burnt Wood . 

Portion of the stem of the F bee in 
the first process of manufacture . 


FRAGMENTS OF BONES OF THE 


Fox, Canis vulpes (ulna). . : 

Beaver, Castor fiber (1 incisor, 1 
left femur)  . 

Wild Boar, Sus scrofa ferus (1 
right ¢2bia) 

Marsh Boar, Sus scrofa palustris (1 
ulna, 1 molar, 1 jaw) 

Stag, Cervus Elaphus (1 right. femar, 
1 left humerus) : 

Roebuck, Cervus capreolus (Horn) 

Goat, Capra, sp.? (tibia, Jaw) . 

Urus, Bos primigenius . . . 

Ox? Bos taurus ; 

Fragments of various Bones " enawed by 
dogs ? 

Prong of a Deer’s Horn gnawed by rats. 

Various Bones and pieces of Horn cut 
and marked by flint implements. 


bo a SE ne 


SERRE ; ; ; = 


BONES, ETC., MADE INTO IMPLEMENTS, 
4, Hafts of Stag’s Horn, hollowed to 


181 


1 Small Needle? . ...., 
IMPLEMENTS OF STONE, ETC. 

10 Stone Celts, or Axe-heads, made 
of Serpentine . 
Cast of Axe-head made of Jade ? 
(original from) 
. W.& 


M. 


2 Flint Arrow heads 

5 Flint Saws and Knives 

6 Flint Scrapers . . . 

Stone Hammer . . Fi 

2 Round Stone Corn Gimeneas ‘ 

Stone Axe in course of manufacture, 
with traces of flint saw-marks 

Sandstone used in grinding Celts . 

2 Celts of Serpentine 

42 Flint Flakes of various sepa 

18 Flint Knives 

8 Flint Chips 


ARTICLES OF POTTERY, ETC. 


13 Fragments of Coarse Pottery, 
hand-made. M. 
4 Portions of Earthen Pots used to ; 
store cornin . . 
1 Piece of a Vase ornamented with a 
tree pattern W. 
7 Pieces of rough Pottery. “Tnkwijl. 
2 Harthen Cups (one of which is very 
elegant in form) . Cortaillod, Lake of 
Neuchatel. 


= 


eeled daeeee 4 


B 


.| Fragment of a Large Vase, Auvernier, 


Lake of Neuchitel. 

6 Terra-cotta whorls, used in spinning 
with the distaff Cortaillod. 
Portions of the Clay coating the interior 
of the huts, indurated by fire , W. 


WORKS OF ART IN BRONZE. 
3 Knife Blades . Cortaillod, Lake of 


receive stone axes , C. Neuchatel. 
7 Awls and Pins, made of various 1 Hair Pin Do. do. 
bones . M. | 2 Celts, with loops Do. do. 
17 Chisels and Knives M.|9 Rings Do. do. 
4 Chisels or Gouges ‘ - W.|3 Armlets Do. do. 
1 Haft, with entire Celt i a . &.|1 Razor, or Leather Cutter Do. do. 
1 Haft, with broken Celt in situ, St.Aubin.|6 Ornamented Pins . Bevais 


1 Haft of Stag’s Horn St. Aubin, 
4, Pointed Bone Instruments cs W. 


1 Long slender Celt, Meilen, L. of Zurich. 
1 Chisel , Nidau Steinberg, L. Bienne. 


182 Voracity of the Asplanchna, and its Stomach Currents. 


VORACITY OF THE ASPLANCHNA, AND ITS 
STOMACH CURRENTS. 


BY HENRY J. SLACK, F.G.S., 
Member of the Microscopical Society of London. 


THE ordinary text-books do not contain a satisfactory portrait 
of one of the most imteresting rotifers, the Asplanchna 
Brightwellii, and the peculiar arrangement and mobility of the 
various parts render it almost impossible that a striking like- 
ness should be produced.* In two successive seasons I obtained 
these creatures from Hampstead Heath, and last November and 
December found them fairly plentiful in one or two very small 


ponds at the back of the Castle Tavern. When a fortunate dip ts © 


made, and the bottle held up to the light, little exquisitely 
transparent glassy bags will be seen swimming about, and they 
will be made noticeable, less by their extremely delicate outline 
than by a solid-looking patch of coloured matter, generally 
golden yellow, which stimulates curiosity to find out what they 
are. As I wish, when opportunity offers, to resume the in- 
vestigation of these remarkable rotifers, I shall not now 


append any drawings, or discuss minute details of their orga- . 


nization. Their name designates an astounding peculiarity— 
the absence of a bowel or anus, which might have been thought 
indispensable to a creature so highly organized as the asplanchna 
undoubtedly is. ‘ 

The Asplanchna PBrightwellii is almost a twenty-fourth of 
an inch long. The jaws are called “ one-toothed,” but the 
appellation is scarcely correct, as these organs consist of two 
arms, cleft at their extremities, and having a large toothed 
projection rather less than half-way down. A carefully-made 
drawing is before me as I write, and the general impres- 
sion, when the curved arms (rami and mallei) are placed 
upright, is not unlike that of a pair of antlers, and they do 
not seem much better fitted for anything like chewing the food 
that passes through them. Whatever is swallowed goes down 
a conspicuous gullet, and a very extensible crop, often seen in 
folds, and abounding in delicate muscular bands. My hope was 
to find that this was in some way divided, and that there 
existed a distinct exit-pipe. In this I was unable to succeed, and 


I can offer no explanation of the riddle which the asplanchna 


presents. The crop terminates in a stomach of rounded, but 
irregular form, and when the creature is quiet, the long ovary 
is folded in a horseshoe round the digestive bag. ‘This ovary 

* Since writing the above, Mr. Gosse has allowed me to see his collection of 


drawings of these creatures, and, as might be expected, they are far superior to 
any Others, The asplanchna requires to be studied in a series of sketches. 


Voracity of the Asplanchna, and its Stomach Currents. 183 


may be roughly compared to a long omnibus cushion with 
rounded ends. It is capable of much motion, and some apparent 
change of form. I have just mentioned what I may call its normal 
position ; but in a sketch before me, the stomach has ascended 
quite above it, and below it les a large, rough, resting ege, 
nearly ready for expulsion.* Situated a little above the orifice 
from which the eggs or young are discharged, is the contractile 
vesicle, or heart, whose motions are easily seen when the other 
life apparatus is out of the way. There are also complicated 
tubes, which under favourable circumstances exhibit the so- 
called ‘tremulous bodies’”—little finger-like projections, on 
which a high power detects ciliary action that has been sup- 
posed to be connected with the animal’s respiration. 

It is a most voracious creature, and its stomach is often a 
natural history museum. The teeth do not damage the objects 
as they go down, so that in one of my specimens I found a 
small volvox apparently uninjured, and waiting the slow opera- 
tion of the digestive juice. Mr. Gosse also mentions an 
instance in which a rotifer that had been passed into the 
stomach escaped alive. In the stomach of arother asplanchna, 
of which a drawing was made, were no less than seven small 
rotifers and the jaw of an eighth, one arcella, and a quantity of 
imperfectly crystallized transparent particles, that acted upon 
polarized light, and may have been uric acid, together with a 
mass of matter too much digested to determine its origin. The 
asplanchna is not only willing to swallow any number of her 
fellow-creatures, animal or vegetable, that her stomach can 
possibly hold, but she gulps down objects apparently as 
imconvenient as if a man should swallow a rolling pin, or the 
kitchen poker itself. When such an awkward article has 
been bolted, the stomach is widely distended; the crop does 
its part to make room for the visitor, by pursuing the same 
course, and the result is that the entire digestive passage, and 
stomach bag, together take a triangular form. 1 saw several 
instances of this curious process. In one a—relatively—very 
large piece of the tracheal tube of some insect was stretched 
like a beam across the stomach, which it pushed quite out of 
shape. In another case, the creature had swallowed that 
beautiful little lively vegetable, the Huglena pyrum, and the 
memorandum I made on the occasion was as follows :—‘‘ 2nd 
Dec., 1863. Asplanchna,B, young one, had swallowed an Huglena 
pyrum, which at one time came partly up into the cesophagus, 
stretching it so that it was difficult to tell where the stomach 
began. ‘hen it arranged itself crosswise at the bottom of the 
stomach, and the cesophagus, crop, and stomach were stretched 


* The ordinary eggs are hatched inside. I saw several young ones ex- 
truded, exactly resembling the mother. 


184 Voracity of the Asplanchna, and its Stomach Currents. 


so as to form one triangular bag. The Huglena was elongated 
into a cylinder with a pointed tail. At another time the 
ciliary motions of the stomach made it spin round and round 
about its long axis.” 

My present object is to call particular attention to the 
ciliary stomach currents last mentioned, as I have seen them 
more strikingly displayed in the asplanchna than in any other 
rotifer. It would seem as if the whole surface of the stomach 
were lined with cilia in active motion, and the direction of the 
currents they occasion, depends chiefly upon the gaps that 
occur in the masses of food. The motions of the creature 
agitate and constrict the stomach. Thus the food, when reduced 
to a pulp, is easily divided into separate portions, and the spaces 
between them form channels, down which the ciliary currents 
rush. They are easily seen with a good + or 4th, but with 
Smith and Beck’s 55th, (and doubtless also with Powell and» - 
Lealand’s 35th), they are magnificent objects. It was with the 
former glass I frequently viewed them, and I find on one occasion 
the following note entered in my microscopic memorandum 
book :— 

“The stomach of the asplanchna exhibits the ciliary motion 
very finely—the food gets divided into separate masses, and in 
the inter-spaces, the ciliary currents look like the confluence 
of ten thousand waterfalls, and often form whirlpools in which 
small particles are hurled about with great velocity.” No 
drawings can give anything like a picture of such movements ; 
but a diagramatic sketch was made of the most singular, and I 
find two closely curled whirlpools working away in juxtaposition, 
and connected with two parallel currents about a seven 
hundredth of an inch long, both of which were curled inwards \ 
at the bottom, and sent up two steady streams, the tendency of 
which was to cut another channel through the food mass, and 
to keep its particles bathed incessantly on every side. 

Lower powers easily show that these currents exist, but 
no idea can be formed of their beauty as a spectacle, unless 
with such an object-glass as the 3th and careful illumination 
with the achromatic condenser. As thus displayed it was one 
of the most striking and memorable scenes of the microscope 
that I haye ever witnessed. Some other rotifers may answer 
the purpose as well as the asplanchna for showing these 
currents ; but I have never met with one equal to it. The 
tissues are as clear as our finest glass, and the stomach well- 
situated. Slight compression should be employed, but not 
enough to hurt the creature whose internal after-dinner arrange- 
ments it is intended to survey. . 


The Foundations of Physical Science. 185 


THE FOUNDATIONS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 


We heartily welcome the first volume of the “sixth and completed 
edition”? of Dr. Arnott’s Elements of Physics* because we believe 
there is no work in any language that can supply its place. Other 
works of great merit are for the most part} only adapted to 
those who have already acquired the habits of students, and 
there is no pleasure in reading them, apart from that attaching 
to the acquisition of facts in a dry and bald form. Dr. Arnott’s 
famous book is, on the contrary, so admirable for simplicity 
of statement and elegance of illustration, that no reader, young 
or old, whose mind is in a condition of reasonable activity, can 
resist its fascination, or be willing to put it down until it has 
been carefully read. To those who have everything to learn 
concerning the physical forces of the universe it will prove a 
delightful guide, while those who are familiar with the prin- 
ciples it unfolds, will be charmed by the excellence of its 
method, and by the admirable use it has made of that best of 
all aids to memory, a natural and comprehensive association 
of ideas. The writer well remembers the pleasure afforded by 
an early edition in his schoolboy days, and doubtless many 
who now occupy important positions in the scientific world will 
speak of it as one of the few books which contributed to direct 
their tastes, as wellas to lay the foundation of accurate thinking 
upon the varied problems presented by the external world. 

In some respects the most difficult part of Dr. Arnott’s 
labours remains for the second volume, which is promised in 
October, to conclude the present edition and complete the 
work. The volume now issued comprehends mechanics, 
hydrostatics, hydraulics, pneumatics, acoustics, and animal 
mechanics. “Thoroughly revised,” as the author tells us, and 
“brought up to the present time.” The second volume will 
relate to heat, light, electricity, and magnetism, with astronomy, 
and popular mathematics. There is a little awkwardness in 
treating, as this volume does, of boilig water and the steam- 
engine before explaining the laws of heat; but the matter 
relatmg thereto is certainly intelligible to any one who has 
carefully studied the chapters that precede it. 

ile generally concurring with the views adopted by 
Dr. Arnott, we regret that he has placed a particular, and in some 
respects highly improbable theory in the position of his “ first 
fundamental truth.” The assertion that “every material mass 
in nature is divisible into very minute indestructible and un- 


* Elements of Physics, or Natural Philosophy, written for General Use, in 
Plain. or Non-Technical Language, by Neil Arnott, M.D., F.L.S. Sixth and 
completed edition. Part I. Longmans. 

} Philosophy inSport made Science in Earnest, is a valuable exception to this rule. 


186 The Foundations of Physical Science. 


changeable particles,” is assuredly not ascertained to be true, and 
there was not the slightest occasion to make a doubtful guess, 
as in the word we have given in italics, or it may be an 
erroneous assertion, the foundation of a superstructure built up 
in accordance with logical rules. So distinctly does Dr. Arnott 
assert the doubtful doctrines connected with the word atom, 
that he gives, as an illustration of the assertion just cited, the 
case of a piece of metal, bruised, broken, cut, dissolved or 
otherwise transformed, a thousand times, but which still “ can 
always be exhibited again as perfect as at first.’ Dr. Arnott 
probably did not mtend to convey all that this passage plainly 
means and implies, and he would surely hesitate to affirm all 
its unproved assertions, if they were drawn up in due form 
and presented to his eye. He does not know that there are 
such things, for example, as ‘ indestructible unchangeable 


particles” of iron. There could only be such particles of simple - 


substances, and who can tell what substance really deserves 
that name? All compound substances may have an atomic com- 
position—that is to say, they may not be susceptible of division 


beyond a certain limit without being decomposed ; but if so, ~ 


the smallest possible particle of a compound will consist of 
two or more still smaller particles of its elements, whatever 
they may be. ‘The principles of mechanics do not depend upon 


any of the gratuitous assertions made in Dr. Arnott’s so called . 


“first fundamental truth,” and it does not coincide with his 
usually careful and luminous statements concerning either 
argument or fact. 

An accurate knowledge of the elementary principles and 
facts of physics forms the only possible foundation for the study 
of more complicated’ branches of physical science, and it is 
unfortunately surprising to find how few persons have taken the 
trouble—or, if Dr. Arnott were the guide, we should say 
enjoyed the pleasure—of learning these primary truths. 

The processes of the human organism develope many 
forces, but man as a worker creates none; all that he can 
accomplish is to use his own muscular force, or some other 
power, so as to accomplish his will. If he boils water and 
avails himself of the expansive force of steam, he has not made 
that foree. He has merely placed fuel, water, certain masses 
of metal and other articles so as to be acted upon, in given 
directions and for a given time, by certain properties of heat. 
In what are calied the mechanical powers (levers, ete.) he does 


somewhat less, and his action depends upon a few simple — 


principles and facts. ‘This is well expressed in the opening 
lines of the analysis to the second section of Dr. Arnott’s 
work :—‘ The bodies or masses composing the universe may be 
at rest or motion, and to change any present state, force 


The Foundations of Physical Science. 187 


proportioned to the quantity of the body and to the degree of 
change is equally required, whether to give motion, to take it 
away, or to bend it.” Hvery one can see that a body at rest 
might remain so for ever, if no one, and no thing, exerted the 
force necessary to make it move; but it is not equally obvious, 
though equally true, that if once set in motion 1t would move 
on for ever, if nothing caused it to stop. Let this truth be 
felt, and an interesting inquiry must arise concerning what 
becomes of an arrested force. Science has not yet demon- 
strated that all forces are correlative; but we are justified in 
saying that forces are incessantly at work, and that one force 
only ceases from doing one kind of work by becoming occupied 
with another kind of work. We recognize a force by what it 
is doimg, or. has done, and we give names which designate 
distinct actions, although they may become erroneous if sup- 
posed to designate totally distinct causes. The mechanical 
force displayed in the swift journey of a cannon-ball to a target, 
disappears when the object has been struck, and the ball 
brought to rest ; but it has developed great heat, and altered 
its own internal state, and also that of the target, in addition 
to the visible effects of crushing and penetration. 

Nature is full of practical equations. A small body, 
moving quickly, equals im force and can counterpoise a larger 
body moving with proportional slowness. There are innu- 
merable applications of this law; but all are readily compre- 
hensible, provided the manner in which a lever operates is first 
understood. Ignorance first, and familiarity afterwards, pre- 
vents the importance of these simple facts from being per- 
ceived ; butit is not too much to say, that human existence and 
civilization would be alike impossible, if small quantities of 
matter could not be made to balance large quantities of matter, 
or large quantities made to balance small quantities, by propor- 
tioning the quantity of motion imparted to each in a given 
time. Dr. Arnott puts the question very simply, in explaining 
that the “ apparent paradox of a weight of one pound at the end 
of a beam being rendered through such medium equal in effect 
to four pounds placed nearer the centre, is solved by reference 
to the nature of imertia and motion. ‘The same amount of 
force which gives any certain velocity to four pounds is just 
that required to give four times that velocity to one pound ; 
and owing to the connection of the two weights through the 
beam, no motion downwards by grayity can occur in the four 
pounds, without causing a motion upwards just four times as 
great in the one pound.” 

The term inertia has been so long in use, that there is little 
chance of getting rid of it; but it tends to give a false idea, 
which sometimes clings to a student’s subsequent thoughts. 


188 The Foundations of Physical Science. 


A body that does not move because the forces acting upon it 
are balanced, is not inert in any proper sense of the word. If 
it be a ball resting on the table, it tends towards the earth’s 
centre by an active gravitation thereto, and it does not go 
through the table, simply because the cohesion of the wood is 
greater than the force by which it is pressed downwards. A 
piece of thin paper held on stretch will support a billiard ball, 
but a pound weight would go through it. Ifa body is still, it 
is So because the forces that act upon it balance each other, 
and it will move if a fresh quantity of force be added, by which 
it is overbalanced in any direction. In teaching mechanics, itis 
advisable that this truth should be borne in mind, and that the 
pupil should know that the word inertia by no means expresses 
the actual state of the case. _ 

The capacity to be of service in the concerns of practical 
life depends a good deal upon an acquaintance with the ele> ~ 
ments of physics, and without that knowledge it is impossible 
to make sufficient advance in any other science to afford either 
profit or delight. And yet hundreds of schools still exist, at 
which boys and girls may pass seven or fourteen years without 
knowing the difference between a pulley and a screw! For 
private families the means of pleasurable instruction are sup- 
plied by Dr. Arnott’s book. It should be read a chapter at a 
time, and the various experiments performed with articles that 
exist in every house. Pieces of stick will make levers; every- 
body can get a common carpenter’s screw; a cotton reel is a 
pulley ; a teapot teaches hydrostatics, because the small column 
in its spout is able to balance the big column in the vessel 
itself; it will also teach some hydraulics, because, with a given 
inclination, it will discharge its contents quicker when full, than: 
when, from being partly empty, the ‘level of the source of 
supply is not so much above the point of exit as in the former 
case, and consequently the pressure is less. The habit of 
understanding’ the scientific principles that operate in daily 
concerns is an invaluable one. It is astonishing that men have 
lived so long in the world, and that the most civilized nations 
are only beginning to find out that it is desirable to know 
something about it. Without some knowledge of physics and 
chemistry, without microscopes and telescopes, the mind is half 
starved, because so little of nature’s operations is understood ; 
and there remains a great gulf of separation between the in- 
structed few and the uninstructed many. Far better would it 
be—and happily not now difficult or costly—for the average 
cultivation of youth to be carried at least as far as the rudiments 
of positive knowledge in the departments we have specified, and 
then the capacities of society for utility and enjoyment would 
be a million-fold increased. 


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The Moon. 193 


THE MOON. PLANETS OF THE MONTH. DOUBLE 
STAR. OCCULTATIONS. 


BY THE REY. T. W. WEBB, M.A., F.R.A.S. 
INDEX-MAP OF THE MOON. 


THE accompanymeg diagram of the moon is not intended as a 
pictorial representation of the surface of our satellite, but as 
a guide to the position of the more conspicuous spots or inte- 
resting regions; and beyond this it makes no pretensions.* 
From the principle of selection which has been adopted, it is 
hoped that it will be less perplexing to the amateur who is 
commencing the study of our satellite, than if it were a 
crowded reduction of a larger map; and while it will assist 
him in acquiring the nomenclature of the principal features, its 
more express object will be to enable him to identify the posi- 
tion of the details which it is intended to describe successively 
in future papers. It has been divided into two halves, in 
order to avoid the inconvenience of folding ; and bisection in 
an HE. and W. direction has been preferred to the more natural 
one from N. to §., as interfering with much fewer objects. 
This, however, has entailed the necessity of turning the 
diagram on its side, that it may present an aspect similar to 
that of the full moon in an inverting telescope. The grey 
plains, or so-called seas, are distinguished by Roman capital 
letters, the craters and mountains by Arabic numerals, corres- 
ponding with the accompanying list, which, it will be observed, 
has been so arranged as to bring the designation as nearly 
opposite as may be to the spot to which it belongs. The great 
work of Beer and Madler being adopted as the standard 
authority, their order has been followed in the distribution of 
the numbers, though its appropriateness may not be in every 
instance as apparent as might be wished. The student is re- 
commended to pay especial attention to the situation of the 
points of the compass, which differs materially from that 
recognized almost universally in terrestrial maps. The reason of 
this peculiarity will be clear if the diagram is turned upside 
down ; it will then represent the full moon as seen on the me- 
ridian without a telescope, and the designation of each part of 
the lunar disc will be found to correspond with the points of the 
terrestrial compass on every side. This semi-inversion, which 
arises from our standing face to face with the object, and 
is exactly that of a common looking-glass, or a front-view 

* A much more complete map, twelve inches in diameter, containing every 


spot included in the nomenclature of Beer and Midler (404 in all), will be found 
in the author’s little work entitled Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes. 


194. The Moon. 


reflector, will be a little puzzling at first, and should be tho- 
roughly mastered in order not to get bewildered and lose our 
way in following the description of details. 

We are now prepared to enter upon an individual examina- 
tion of the most conspicuous wonders of our satellite; a few 
preliminary remarks, however, may be expedient, to put the 
student in possession of such information as he may subse- 
quently find useful. With regard to the lunar nomenclature, 
this, though now reduced to a settled arrangement, has been 
formerly subject to great variation. Hevel, the celebrated 
observer of Dantzig, who flourished during the latter half of 
the seventeenth century, was the first to designate the various 
regions and spots by names ; these he derived from some kind 
of analogy between the configurations of the terrestrial and 


lunar surfaces—occasionally a tolerably happy one, but gene- * ; 


rally speaking very inappropriate, as well as inadequate to meet 
the future requirements of advancing knowledge. His suc- 
cessor, Riccioh, though an inferior observer, improved con- 
siderably upon this method, by the adoption of Hevel’s earlier 
idea, which had been abandoned from the fear of apparent 
partiality, and which consisted im the employment of the 
names of eminent scientific men—among these taking care not 
to forget his own. He changed, at the same time, Hevel’s 
appellations of the so-called seas, for others referring to sup- 
posed influences exercised by the moon upon the atmosphere 
and productions of the earth, and altered in a similar way those 
of the higher districts and mountain ranges ; but in the latter 
case his designations have fallen into disuse, or have, in a few 
instances, been unable to supplant the earlier ones. Fortu- 
nately for Riccioli’s scheme, it is of an elastic character; the 
constant increase in the number of scientific names admitting 
of its extended application in proportion to the increased 
number of spots which modern accuracy seeks to distinguish ; 
such an extension is, in fact, being carried out at the present 
time by our own zealous and able selenographer, Mr. Birt ; 
and this nomenclature may now be considered as established 
beyond the prospect of change. As, however, it would be 
obviously impossible to find separate designations in this way 
for all the objects which require to be identified, Schriter 
introduced the use of the letters of the Roman and Greek 


alphabets for the minor details in each of his “ selenotopo- — 


graphical’ plates ; and this plan has been reduced by Beer and 
Miidler to a regular system, which it may be desirable to ex- 
plain in this place, as their letter-press is not always in the 
hands of the possessors of their map. Every object which has 
no proper name is referred to the nearest spot so designated ; 
if a mountain, it is indicated by a Greek, if a hollow, by a Latin 


\ 


The Moon. 195 


letter subjoined to the name of the principal spot; capital 
letters are employed for points whose position has been deter- 
mined by measurement, smaller ones for such as are filled in by 
the eye; these letters standing, especially when so required, 
on the side of the object next to the spot whence it is named ; 
and the alphabetical succession being determined by the rela- 
' tive conspicuousness of the features when best seen. The 
system is an Ingenious one, but not im all cases easy, or clear, 
in its application. A more comprehensive and universally 
available mode of designating every spot worthy of notice on 
the lunar disc, is understood to be in the course of preparation 
by Mr. Birt, and will be a great acquisition to astronomers. 

In order to be able to give some verbal description of the 
features of the moon, as well as to assist the investigation of 
supposed ‘changes, it 1s material to employ a scale of bright- 
ness, in which the different degrees, though depending of 
necessity upon mere estimation, are expressed by numbers. 
Schréter and Lohrmann employed a scale of ten degrees for this 
purpose, and have been followed by B. and M., who, making . 
the absolute shadows = 0, assign 1° to 3° to the dark grey 
districts, 4° and 5° to the lighter grey, 6 and 7° to the white 
regions, and 8° to 10° to the glittermg spots. 1°, 9’, and 10° 
are of infrequent occurrence. 2° and 3° denote the common 
tone of the ‘ maria,” 4° to 6° that of the brighter landscapes, 
4° to 7 the rings of most, and the interiors of many craters, 
6, 7, and 8’ express the brightness of many peaks and ridges ; 
but it is remarked by B. and M. that these are never, generally 
speaking, the most elevated points in the district. 

It is not very probable that many of our readers would wish 
to undertake the measurement of the heights and depths of the 
surface. The task would not only be a somewhat troublesome, 
but to a considerable extent a superfluous one, as it has already 
been performed with much accuracy by Beer and Midler, in no 
less than 1095 cases, comprising most of the principal and con- 
veniently accessible features of the moon. Many of their 
results will be found in the following papers; but they will be 
given in round numbers, as the extreme preciseness, extending 
even to single toises, with which they are specified by those 
authorities, has of course no other value than that of showing 
the carefulness of the observation. As all these measures are 
determined by the lengths of shadows, a trifling difference, as 
to which we have very little means of judging, in the level of 
the ground where the shadow terminates, will have so great an 
influence on the final result, that no such exceeding accuracy is 
possible. No doubt, much might yet be done, if it were 
thought desirable to obtain more perfect correctness, by taking 
the average of many measures, obtained at different times from 

VOL. V.—NO, III, Ls 


196 . The Moon. 


different lengths of shadow; and should any observer, pos- 
sessing’ a good micrometer, and facility in the use of it, wish to 
offer such a contribution to selenography, he will find all the 
necessary formule in Der Mond (The Moon) of Beer and 
Midler. 

As to the instrument to be employed, many of the lunar 
features are so conspicuous, that any good telescope will suffice 


AZOUT E oO 


CONDORCET 


PROM: 
AGARUM 


PROCLUS 
ALHAZEN 


cuna\Y 


[The above diagram of the Mare Crisium contains the principal features in the 
map of B. and M.; the portion, however, surrounded by a dotted line is 
altered to correspond with my own observations. ] 


to show them. Of course, a larger instrument would be pre- 
ferable; but even a 2-inch object-glass with a good astro- 
nomical eye-piece will reveal wonders enough to be a constant 
source of interest. In the case of a very large aperture and an 


The Moon. | 197 


eye sensitive to light, much comfort may be experienced from 
the adoption of a screen-glass, such as is used for solar observa- 
tions, but, of course, of a much lighter hue: a pale green has 
been recommended by Challis as very suitable. High mag- 
nifiers are seldom of much value; they contract the field 
unpleasantly, and increase the apparent motion of the object, 
unless a driving-power is at hand. From 100 to 300 times 
may be mentioned as most generally serviceable. Beer and 
Miidler never exceeded the latter in their original investigation 
with an aperture of nearly 43 inches, though Midler, after 
succeeding W. Struve at Dorpat, employed powers of 600 and 
even 1100*, with the great achromatic of 9°6 inches, in that 
observatory. . 

We begin with one of the most familiarly-known spots, 


the— 
MARE CRISIUM. 


The remarkably well-defined grey pla, marked A in our 
Index-map, has received from Riccioli the name of Mare 
Crisium,t+ ‘‘ the Sea of Crises,” by which, as there is nothing 
of an astrologico-political character in his nomenclature, he 
probably meant changes of weather ; and, if so, has, as far as 
he could, commended it to the especial attention of English 
astronomers. It is so distinctly and strongly bounded as to be 
always easy of identification, lymg near the W. limb, and not 
far N. of the lunar equator: and we cannot wonder at the im- 
pression of the earlier observers, who imagined, in such a 
striking Vvel, the exact counterpart of a terrestrial sea, or 
great lake encircled by a rampart of mountains. Such, how- 
ever, was not the full conviction of Hevel, though he adopted 
the name as the closest approximation that he could find; and 
such an idea will not be revived in the present day, so multiphed 
and so distinct are the roughenings of the surface which modern 
instruments will show, and so clear the view into the depths of 
eraters, which would be the chief receptacles of any fluid exist- 
ing there.t The “ Mare” before us is evidently a very inte- 
resting one; its oblique position, however, subjects it to so 
great a foreshortening that its interior is studied to much less 
advantage than if it occupied a more central situation. From 
its nearness to the edge of the disc its apparent form is much 


* These were, however, probably much exaggerated. Encke found that the 
600 power on a similar achromatic at Berlin, by the same maker, proved to be 
only 400 by the dynameter. 

+ Certainly little imagining that any future astronomer would ever quote its 
genitive case as ‘‘Mare Crisii,” which, however, B. and M. have done in one 
instance, p. 194. 

{ Arago, however, thinks this inference not conclusive, as the uneven, craggy 
bottom of our oceans may be distinctly seen from a great height. It might be 
added that fresh water would be still more translucent. 


198 The Moon. 


affected by libration; its measure from H. to W. varying at 
different times from 0°6 to 0°8 of that from N. to 8. Its 
general appearance is that of an irregular oval extended along 
the lunar meridian, and we should not have supposed, from 
mere inspection, that in consequence of the perspective fore- 
shortening it is actually elliptical the opposite way, its longer 
axis pointing towards the eye, or more correctly from W.S.W. 
to H.S.E. of the lunar compass. In this direction it extends 
nearly 354 English miles; from N. to 8. about 280 miles, or 
about the distance from London to Newcastle. lis area is 
about 78,000 square miles,* ;4th part of the visible hemis- 
phere of the moon, ten times the surface of Yorkshire and 
Lancashire united, or a little more than half as much again as 
the area of England and Wales, though of a very dissimilar. - 
form. Of this, however, only 3ths can be considered level: 
Its border is not everywhere continuous, being interrupted im 
some places, especially towards the W., on which side narrow 
arms or straits penetrate the mountains, and communicate with 
smaller grey surfaces. No “sea” is equally dark in compari- 
son with its mountain boundaries, having generally only 2° to 
25° of light, grey in tone, mingled with dark green; but the 
latter colour, according to B. and M., for I have never seen it, 
is perceptible only a few days before and after the full moon, 
with a large aperture, a moderate power, and very favourable 
weather, and, except near the Promontorium Agarum, nowhere 
extends to the W. limit. It has been represented by Professor 
C. Piazzi Smyth, in his three general views of this surface, 
sketched with the feeling and spirit of a genuine artist, but 
entering little into detail. ‘Practice and experience,” he 
says, “brought to view so many decided and interesting 
features of colour,” that the idea of employing black and white 
alone had to be abandoned. ‘The surrounding region ranks as 
5° of light, in some spots rising to 6° and 7°. Mountains en- 
compass it all round, attaiming a considerable height on the 
NE. side; here, im a line passing through Picard A and B, 
B. and M. have measured a summit of 13,300 feet, and further 
to the §.8.E. others of 7,150, 11,300, and 6,700 feet; these 
decline at once precipitously to the plain, from which they 
must exhibit a magnificent spectacle, and over which they must 
command a marvellous prospect. Such views are of frequent 
occurrence in the moon, and the rapid rounding-off of so com- 


* Something appears to have gone wrong here in the text of B. and M., as, 
assuming thate lene and breadth to be correct, the area they have given is con- 
siderably too small. I have corrected this ; but am sorry to add that something 
has gone much more wrong in this place in my little book, entitled Celestial 
Objects for Common Telescopes, where, from using an erroneous multiplier, I have 
made the area only 14,260 square miles! I find, however, a similar st bers in 
Cosmos, iv. 492 (Bohn 


The Moon. 199 


paratively small a globe, and the sharpness of outline and 

detail consequent upon the absence of a vaporous atmosphere, 

must give them an effect which would seem very astonishing 

to a terrestrial spectator. Further to the 8. this EH. coast 

declines to a kind of pass, not well shown by B. and M., who 

admit that this part of their map is deficient in boldness, but 

much better drawn by Schroter: on the other side of this in- 

terruption the mountains rise again, and on the 8. the great 

summits Picard a and 6 spring up to 14,200 and 15,600 feet, 

rivalling our loftiest Alpme peaks; beyond these the great 

headland, named Promontoriwm Agarum by Hevel, runs out into 

the plain with a rounded summit nearly 11,000 feet in height, 

supported by cliffs 8° bright a few days after the full, when they 
are most directly enlightened. Burt has detected a crater upon 
it. In this direction broad bays and “ fiords” penetrate the 
mountain border towards the S., and in the young crescent are 

filled with shade. The W. edge of the “Mare” is less boldly 
defined between the craters Condorcet and Himmart, and is made. 
up of hillocks and ridges, intermixed with isolated mountains, 

like lofty islands in the sea. 

It was among these that Schroter found a distinct and always 
recognizable crater, abouttwenty-three miles in diameter, remark- 
able for its dark grey colour under every angle of illumination, 
to which he gave the name Alhazen, and which, from its proxi- 
mity to the W. limb, he continually used for the purpose of 
measuring the libration. Having thus had it constantly before 
his eyes, he was the more surprised at its variable aspect: at 
first it was a depressed grey surface within a ring; then 
frequently, and even in the 27-foot reflector, like a longish flat 
ridge, and these appearances were interchangeable ; sometimes, 
too, while the neighbouring objects were as sharp as usual, it 
would be so indistinct that ‘he did not know what to make of 
it: and on one occasion (1797, March 1), after ten years of 
observation, when libration was most unfavourable, as having 
carried its W. edge to within 28” of the limb, and the ter- 
minator had crossed over to the other side of the ‘ Mare,” 
and it consequently ought to have been very ill seen, he found 
it extraordinarily distinct: its form, however, was one pre- 
viously entirely unknown, that of a very deep bright irregular 
crater, whose ring was barely complete towards the S., and 
open, with a prolongation of its HE. edge, at the opposite end. 
The cause of this difference, he thought, must lie in some modi- 
fication of the lunar atmosphere, such as he believed that he 
could trace in many instances, which would be capable of 
masking the depths of a crater, and giving it a grey and flat 
aspect, or changing altogether its appearance. In Bode’s 
Jahrbuch for 1825, Kunowsky, an accurate observer, asserted 


200 The Moon. 


that Alhazen was no longer to be found under any form, and 
that the region seemed quite different; nor did B. and M. 
come to any other conclusion. They could discover no ring- 
shaped mountain there—on the contrary, an abundance of 
partly isolated, partly connected hills and mountains, and long, 
dark, curved valleys and bays; so, knowing the “ great uncer- 
tainty ”’* of Schréter’s drawings, they fixed upon a crater con- 
siderably further 8. to bear the name, as it seemed to corres- 
pond best with Schréter’s object. On the other hand, Pastorff 
and Harding stated, in the Jahrbuch for 1827, that they could 
always see Alhazen; and Kohler, under the year 1828, asserts that 
it has not disappeared, but is very variable in aspect; and he has 
given several figures showing that it corresponds with B. and 
M.’s Alhazen a, the loftiest mountain in the region, 7700 | 
feet above the valley to the W. On the EH. side of this height,. 
between it and some low ridges, lies a deep hollow, with open- 
ings to the ‘ Mare,” the colour of which varies with its illu- 
mination, while the mountain itself might, from its shape, 
sometimes take the aspect of a rmg. And with this B. and 
M. seem satisfied, notwithstanding their having changed the 
name. At the commencement of 1862, Birt recovered this 
spot, exactly im the position given by Schréter, and has 
_ described it in detail as a deep valley between two mountain 

ranges, of which the W. (a of B. and M.) is much the higher : 
these are quite separate at their 8. end, but under many cir- 
cumstances are barely distinguishable from the ring of a crater. 
On the EH. side of Alhazen, where Birt perceived one or two 
minute craters, Gruithuisen fancied that certain rows of hillocks 
might contain the habitations of Selenites! and here, too, he 
noticed rapid changes from bright to grey under increasing 
sunshine, which, being contrary to photometrical principles, 
he was disposed to refer to cultivation. Fanciful and absurd 
as his speculations often are, we should not do right in syste- 
matically rejecting his facts, some of which may be worthy of 
further investigation. 

* That there is occasional cause for this censure need not be denied, though 
coarseness and rudeness of delineation would be a more appropriate characteristic. 
But still the old Hanoverian astronomer was far from always deserving the dis- 
paraging remarks of his successors, Jor instance, they have brought it asa charge 
against him that he drew the Mare Crisium, “with all its environs,” in a single 
evening, and has given it a bordering so unlike the truth, that it is scarcely sufli- 
cient for its recognition (a bold and strange assertion), and is quite useless for the 
identification of details; and they ask how it is possible on such data to found 
ideas as to the existence of atmospheric or volcanic changes. It would hardly be 
supposed that Schréter’s own expressions are, that as a single evening is too short 
for the examination, measurement, and delineation of such a region, and it would 
be wrong, and misleading, to te together separate drawings taken under dif- 
ferent circumstances, his sketch is expressly confined to the interior level, and the 


remarkable objects in the mountain border, but that the latter is merely laid down 
in a general way. 


The Moon. 201 


The grey interior plain contains many irregularities of 
surface, of which the principal is a crater called Picard, at least 
twenty-one miles in diameter. Twenty-one miles! what a 
scale this gives the lunar student in gazing at this marvellous 
landscape! A spectator stationed here would see the earth 
like a great globe, between three and four times of the ap- 
parent size of the moon to us, standing at an elevation of about 
34° in its W.8.W. sky, passing through all the varied phases 
of the moon, and only shifting its place a little in consequence 
of libration. The sun, on the contrary, reaches 74° to 77° of 
altitude at noon, and the interior hollow is for 120h. a shadow- 
less and, as we should suppose, an oppressively burning basin. 
Jt is surrounded by a tint somewhat darker than that of the rest 
of the plain, above which its W. wall ascends 3050 feet, but 
5300 above the bottom of the crater. Schrdter has given the 
latter at least 3000 feet more, but no measures can be trusted 
taken under so unfavourable an angle. The smaller craters, 
Picard A and B, are steeper and deeper, and retain almost all 
their shadow when it is quitting their more imposing neighbour. 
Within the line of the EH. coast lie several high mountains, 
either isolated or connected by low ridges, as is frequently 
observed in the moon. These are so ill-represented im the 
great map of B. and M. that they have given a special drawing 
with the letter-press, full of minute detail. Like all their 
delineations towards the limb, it suffers materially in effect 
from the attempt to represent both sides of every mountain as 
in a bird’s-eye view, when one side only is visible in per- 
spective. It would not, indeed, have been practicable to 
avoid this, while persevermg consistently in the conventional 
style adopted in maps ; but the result is unfavourable in all 
situations lying obliquely to the eye. Independently however 
of this awkwardness, for which the observer must learn to 
make allowance, I am obliged to remark that I cannot succeed 
in reconciling it with what I have seen in the same region, and 
have roughly indicated in the accompanying diagram. One of 
these mountains which B. and M. have designated e (affixing the 
letter, however, in their large map not to the proper object, but 
to a mountain about 2° N.N.W.), terminates a low serpentine 
ridge running up from the crater Picard d, and contains, beneath 
its summit (the loftiest point in the neighbourhood,* 5500 feet 
above its W. base), a distinct crater, first represented by 
Cassini; of the existence of this there is no question: but its 
W. is so much higher, broader, and brighter than its H. wall 


* Schroter however rates it differently. He gives it 4982 feet, but thinks 
‘some of its neighbours higher. I have also noticed it not casting the longest 
shadow ; but in this there is much uncertainty, for want of an uniformly level 
dase. f 


202 ' The Moon. 


that under many angles of illumination it assumes the appear- 
ance of a long mountain ridge. Such is the explanation 
offered by B. and M. (after Kunowsky) of the singular 
changes in form and shading which long perplexed Schroter, 
and which led him to infer atmospheric if not volcanic changes ; 
and it seems probable that im this instance the more modern 
astronomers have the best of the argument. The question 
however is not altogether clear. Schrdter’s observations upon 
this group of mountains are too numerous to be recited here ; 
they refer chiefly to the varied appearance of shadows, longer, 
shorter, imperceptible, or unusually directed, at different times, 
but under nearly similar angles of illumination ; to unaccount- 
able changes in the forms of mountains; and to the discovery, 
and subsequent invisibility, of ridges or hillocks in well- 
known and often observed situations. There can be no doubt 
that, as he was himself aware, a slight difference in the con- 
ditions of illumination and reflection may produce a very dis- 
proportionate change of aspect; still, there is much weight in 
his remark that this must not be pushed too far, or we should 
find similar variations occurring from the moon’s progress 
during the course of a single observation extended through 
several hours, which has never yet been found to take place. 
To one source of error he was perhaps not sufficiently alive— 
the increased perception of the true nature of a distant or 
obscure object, in proportion as it becomes familiar to the eye. 
It certainly does not seem at all likely that the crater e was 
ever seen in actual eruption by Schroéter, as he was inclined to 
suppose ; but we must bear in mind that, as eruptions of some 
kind—whatever that kind may be—must have taken place upon 
the moon times without number, there is no antecedent impos- 
sibility in such an idea. It must be admitted that the region 
is @ curious one, and well adapted for an inquiry which may be 
worth the while of future observers, whether all these variations 
are due solely to differences of illumination and libration, or 
whether there may be, as Schréter supposed, occasional modi- 
fications of a lunar amosphere, capable under certain circum- 
stances of impeding or perverting our view; and it would be 
unphilosophical and unwise to allow the greater probability of 
the former alternative to stifle the inquiry. In order to bring 
out of it any successful result, Schroter’s observations would 


lead us, not merely to note the aspect of the crater e in alk | 


positions relative to the sun and earth, but also to examine the 
proportionate lengths of the shadows of the other mountains 
in the group, and the first and last appearance of their summits 
at the time of lunar sunrise or sunset. My own observations. 
have not been sufficiently consecutive to be of real service in 
establishing anything. To the general reader much that has: 


4 


The Moon. 203 
been here brought forward may appear of trifling interest, but 
as there is reason to believe that selenography is now receiving 
a powerful impulse, it may be useful to the student to know 
what difficulties and uncertainties may attend his own path, 
and what has, or has not, been done to remove them. He will 
not regret having made acquaitance with them at his first 
essay. 

We must not omit some other curious observations which 
include a more extended range. Such was that of Schroter, 
who upon one ocasion, when the moon was 2d. 23h. old, found 
the whole W. portion of the “‘ Mare” unusually bright, and 
of a yellowish hue, so as scarcely to be distinguished from its 
mountain border; this appearance, unprecedented here, or in 
any similar level, fading away entirely into the ordinary grey on 
the opposite side of the plain. At another time, the moon’s age 
being 6d. 7h., he saw ‘an incredible, innumerable multitude” of 
bright specks im the grey surface, chiefly in places where no 
known object existed. A subsequent examination of other 
grey plains, under a similar incidence of light, showed him 
nothing equally remarkable. More than two years afterwards, 
however, under avery different and almost vertical illumination, 
the moon being 11d. 19h. old, the scene was renewed; the 
plain was so interwoven and variegated, like the veins of an 
animal, or an irregular tissue, with streaks of light, and 
actually innumerable bright points, that it would have been 
difficult for the most skilful artist to give a sufficiently striking 
representation of such a magnificent scene. ‘Two days after- 
wards this beautiful effect had disappeared, and nothing of the 
kind could be traced in the Mare Serenitatis on the neighbour- 
ing levels, where the sun had by that time attained a corres- 
sponding elevation.* No other similar instance was ever 
recorded by him; but the following from B. and M. (who 
characteristically ignore what he has described) was eyi- 
dently one of the same nature. ‘The moon being between 
10d. and 11d. old, they noticed that the greater part of a white 
streak which runs from Procluws (No. 12 in the Index-Map) 
towards Picard B was resolved, through an area of 230 miles by 
28, into fully 150 points of light, like a jet of water dispersed 
into spray—the whole plain appearing also more speckled than 
usual. I was once (1832, July 4) so fortunate as to witness 
something of the kind, about the time of first quarter, when the 
whole plain, notwithstanding the imperfection of my instru- 
ment—a fluid achromatic of four inches, upon Barlow’s plan— 
was seen beautifully mottled with light and shade, a spot at the 
N. extremity nearly rivalling the brightness of Proclus. It is 


* But from which the rays would be reflected at a very different angle to the 
spectator—a circumstance which Schréter does not notice. 


204. The Moon. 

certainly not easy to account for the infrequency and uncer- 
tainty of such observations. B. and M. could occasionally 
perceive, in very clear air, a multitude of the minutest points 
just on the night-side of the terminator, indicating a surface 
less perfectly level than it might otherwise appear. They 
could trace also, from their shadows, ridges of about 60 feet 
in height, and 23 to 4 or 5 miles wide. There are many 
more considerable ridges in the plain, running generally from 
N. to §., branching and reuniting, rising to knolls at their 
intersections, and sometimes enclosmg circular hollows. The 
remarkable peculiarity to which Schroter paid so much attention, 
as existing everywhere in the moon, that these ridges form 
lines of communication between more conspicuous objects, is 
not without examples here. 


A few other features remain to be described. Olbers dis-* 


covered, with a 3-inch Dollond, in 1794, two minute craters 
between Picard and Condorcet. Five more of very trifling depth 
are mentioned by B. and M. in the same region, but not 
drawn, having been detected after the publication of this part 
ofthemap. The Mare Crisiwm, mdeed, is executed altogether in 
an inferior way, as though it had been an early attempt. They 
have omitted a few minute craters figured by Schréter near the 
W. and N. border; and many of these objects are of such dif- 
ficult visibility that discrepancies must here cause no surprise. 
Nevertheless, insignificant as they may appear, they are of 
much value to the selenographer, as they admit of close com- 
parison with regard to relative size, and consequently afford 
an especially fair prospect of discovering the progress—should 
it exist—of eruptive action. 

Picard d, a crater discovered by Cassini at the S. end of 
the serpentine ridge, was noticed by Schréter to be of extra- 
ordinary depth, deeper than Picard, from its long retention of 
shade.* Immediately 8. of it lies a curious object first per- 
ceived by him, an ancient looking ring with a central mound, 
resembling much a walled plain—such as we shall be introduced 
to hereafter—in a state of degradation and decay. He could 
not always find it afterwards, though under corresponding 
circumstances, and hence was led to infer some atmospheric 
obscuration. Although B. and M. have introduced abundant 
details in this district, some of which I have not seen, they 
failed to notice that the curve which the winding ridge, so fre- 
quently mentioned, forms towards the HK. is in reality the half 
of a circle (projected of course as an ellipse), of which I have 
distinctly made out the remainder, as sketched in the diagram. 

* This observer has noticed that many of the smaller class of craters are so 


remarkable on this account that there is cause to suspect some illusion, as true 
shade could hardly remain so long. This may be a point worthy of attention. 


The Moon. 205 


It is of a character which we shall not unfrequently meet with 
in our lunar travels, resembling a bowl nearly full of a fluid 
into which it is obliquely smking ; in point of size and age it 
seems more the counterpart than is represented in the diagram, 
of the circle already mentioned on the other side of Picard d. 
I first perceived it, 1863, Oct. 28, and have since repeatedly 
seen it, under such varied incidence of light, that I cannot 
doubt its reality, or understand how it is to be satisfactorily 
reconciled with B. and M’s. detail here. They have also 
omitted two very minute craters, one a little way 8.S.H.of e, where 
they, Schréter, and myself at other times have seen an eleva- 
tion; the other between my ring and Picard d, lymg apparently 
on the serpentine ridge, in a part which was not visible when 
. diagram was made, but is readily seen under the opposite 
illumination. The pass or gateway through the H. mountains 
is guarded, as J have several times noticed, by two small craters, 
both seen by Schréter, but one only clearly represented by 
B. and M. That on the N. side was not perceived by the 
former observer till after he had had the spot under his eyes for 
more than three years; yet there is no reason to suppose it 
new; such oversights are not very uncommon. 

B. and M. have remarked it as a singular fact, that no central 
hill is to be found in any of the craters in or around this great 
plain, the nearest so characterized being Taruntius and Ma- 
erobius (91 and 11 in the Index-Map), if we except a feeble 
and somewhat uncertain trace in Azout. I have, however, 
entered a low central hill, as visible in Picard, and another 
more distinct in Picard A, with a 3%, -inch aperture, 1834, 
Sept. 19; and with my present telescope I distinctly found, 
1868, Oct. 28, that both these craters have interiors rough 
with hillocks, especially A, which has an irregular mound lying 
on the inner slope of its N. end; the effect being much as 
though masses of soft mud had been thrown at random into 
the interior. Gruithuisen states that near Picard some re- 
markable white ridges are to be seen, in part as straight and 
regular as artificial walls. 

In consequence of the great differences resulting from 
hbration, no certain age of the moon can be mentioned as the 
most suitable for the study of this region. Opportunities must 
be carefully watched in the young crescent and the early wane. 
A grand effect is produced during the progress of the lunar 
sunset, when the great boundary mountains on each side of 
the H. gateway fling their ponderous shadows to the termina- 
tor, inclosing a small portion of the plain, which still enjoys 
the declining ray. This has been well figured by Schriter, 
and I have seen it 3d. 4h. after the full moon. 


206 Planets of the Month ; Double Star; Occultations. 


PLANETS OF THE MONTH. 

We have so long been without the charm of planets in our 
evening skies, that we shall hail their return with pleasure 
during the present month. Jupiter and Saturn have now come 
back to us. Saturn will be in opposition to the sun on April 4, 
and therefore on the meridian at midnight, between a and y 
Virginis, but some way N. of the joming line. His rising will be 
then about 63h. The ring is becoming broader every season— 
its proportions being now about 433” by 29”, so that its mar- 
vellous details are coming fairly ito view, while the intersection 
of its outline with that of the ball renders the combined form 
more elegant than it would be with a wider opening. Jupiter 
rises later, about 95h.in the middle of the month, and has, 
unfortunately, a considerable 8. declination among the stars 
Inbra. Those who are interested in the study of his features, 
or the transits of his satellites, will nevertheless, no doubt, 


attempt to renew their observations. ‘The transits before mid- 


night will be the following :—April 8th, I. will leave the disc 
at 11h. 44m.—10th, the shadow of II. will enter at 11h. 12m., 
the satellite following at 12h. 41m.—15th, I. will enter at 11h. 
18m., its shadow being already on the disc. 

Mercury will be at his greatest H. elongation at the end of 
the month; and though not in the most favourable part of his 
orbit, the great eccentricity of which makes much difference, 
yet, having considerable N. declination, there will be a chance 
of his being fairly visible in the evening twilight. 

DOUBLE STAR. ; 

Saturn will be lingering so near one of these objects during 
this month, that it would seem strange not to include it in our 
list. It will be found a little sf the planet, and is— 

123. 9 Virginis. 71. 3452. 44 and 9 (1831715). Pale 
white and violet. An optical pair, rendered triple by the 
addition of a third 10 mag. star, at 65” and 295°, It is a 
pretty though minute object. I thought the closer attendant 
greenish or bluish, with 3 j,inches, 1856°35 ; but a larger aper- 
ture is necessary to estimate the colour of such feeble points, 
and I have not examined it with my present means. 


OCCULTATIONS. 


- 


April 11th. X? Orionis, 6 mag., will be hidden from 6h. 28m. 


to 7h. 88m.—20th, g Virginis, 6 mag., from 8h. 40m. to 9h. 
48m,—22nd, B. A.C. 4896, 6 mag., from 9h. 23m, to 10h. 25m. 


The Hatinguisher Mosses. 207 


THE EXTINGUISHER MOSSES. 
BY M. G. CAMPBELL. 


Tae Enealypte, or Extinguisher Mosses, form a very natural 
group, which, notwithstanding the extremely variable peristome, 
are easily distinguished from all others by the structure and com- 
parative size of the calyptra, which is cylindrico-campanulate 
below, longer than the capsule, and with a rather long rostrum, 
like a little tower or round spire at the apex, while at the base 1b 1s 
usually fringed, torn, or crenate, and is persistent, defying wind 
and rain, and falling away only with the lid when the spores are 
perfectly ripe. These spores are granular, and of a yellowish- 
brown colour. The species may be found growing on dry or 
moderately moist rocks, and on walls and stones, especially 
those of calcareous origin. The stems are branched, here and 
there beset with radicles, erect, bearing terminal seta, and 
perennial ; the fruit-stalk is so firm and tenacious as to remain 
on the stems for several seasons. The generic name 1s 
derived from év in, and xadv7tos, covered, shrouded, or 
enveloped, 7.¢., covered in, in allusion to the persistent, bell- 
shaped calyptra entirely enclosing the capsule. 

The most generally met with is 
fincalypta vulgaris, or the common ex- 
timguisher moss, of which we give a 
considerably magnified illustration, 
with a naked capsule still more magni- 
fied, and having on its lid, with long 
tapering beak. The moss may be 
found growing on stone walls, also 
on banks and rocks, especially such 
as are of calcareous nature. It has 
rather short stems, rarely half an 
inch long, but branched and radi- 
culose. Its leaves are erect, more or 
less spreading, and, in general, more 
or less apiculate, though in one variety 
they are obtuse and concave at the 
apex; the margin plane, crenulate, or 
scabrous with papillae; the nerve strong, 
purplish, often more or less excurrent, 
but sometimes ceasing below the apex, 
and the leaves are somewhat crisped 
when dry. The capsule is subcylindri- 
cal, smooth when moist, but frequently Encik eieiereeaeen 
more or less plicated or rugose when 
dry; of thin texture, and somewhat tapering from the base. 
The annulus is simple and persistent, and being coloured at an 


208 The Hzxtinguisher Mosses. 


early stage, is easily seen through the semi-transparent, greenish 
calyptra, which is papillose at the apex; and said to be entire at 
the base, though usually more or less torn in its separation from 
the vaginula, but it is never fringed as in Hnculypta ciliata ; 
and is entire in the sense of being of one piece, self composed, 

as well as in the botanical sense of being without teeth or 
notches in the margin; it resembles a little fairy extinguisher 
placed over a miniature wax-taper, as much as to say, “‘ You 
must not be lighted till the boisterous winds of March, 
and the tearful days of April, give place to serener skies and a 
dryer atmosphere ;” but during these months, March and 
April, the fruit is ripening, and towards the end of April or 
early in May, extinguisher and lid, which have been such close 
friends during all the rough weather, fall off together, and give 
the now matured spores, which are rather large for the size of » 
the moss, leave to escape and develop the functions of vitality 
that lurk within them. The peristome is frequently absent, 
and at all times is extremely fagacious and fragile; when per- 
fect, it consists of sixteen teeth, pale and sub-erect, seldom 
rising much above the orifice of the capsule. 

There are several varieties, shghtly differmg from each 
other, one differing only in an elongated stem and larger 
leaves, another in having the leaves piliferous, another in 
having an oblique capsule, but all so nearly resembling the 
normal form, as to be easily recognized for Hncalypta vulgaris. 
From the same patch, a few yards in extent, and growing on a 
stone wall on the Cotteswold range of hills, we have gathered 
some specimens with a full mouth of sixteen teeth, others with 
one, two, or three only, and others again quite destitute of 
peristome. _ 

The calyptra attains its full size before its separation from 
the yaginula, and even before the fruit becomes appreciable at 
the summit of the fruit-stalk, which is coiled up within the 
calyptra in this early stage, and it is interesting to witness its 
development. At first the base of the calyptra is turned up 
inwardly upon a little mass of spongy tissue, which crowns the 
depressed conical summit of the vaginula, and when torn away 
by advancing growth, it is found too firmly adherent to come 
clean off, so that it leaves a circular fragment from its base, like 
a little coronet, to crown the vaginula. The reddish fruit-stalk, 
which is about half an inch long, twists towards the right. 

In Encalypta ciliata, or the fringed extinguisher moss, the 
fruit-stalk twists towards the left, the vaginula is sub-cylindri- 
cal, and the pale yellowish, smooth calyptra is distinctly 
fringed at the base, the fringe being derived from the spongy 
conical mass of cellular tissue which surmounts the vaginula, 
and, therefore, being of laxer texture, and paler than the calyptra 


The Extinguisher Mosses. 209 


itself. This frmge is inflexed when moist, and is sometimes 
deciduous. . 

The capsule of H. ciliata is of a bright chestnut colour, sub- 
cylindrical, very smooth, slightly constricted below the mouth, 
but without an annulus, and haying thicker walls than those of 
fH. vulgaris. The teeth of the peristome, lanceolate in form, 
and sixteen in number, are marked with transverse bars, some- 
what prominent externally, and inserted below the orifice of the 
capsule; they are of a reddish hue, converge when moist, but 
remain erect in a dry state. The spores are granular, and the 
fruit-stalk, instead of bemg reddish as in Hi. vulgaris, is yellow. 
The stems are loosely tufted, about half an inch long or more, 
branched and bearing oblong-ovate leaves of a brighter green 
than those of H. vulgaris, broader and less crisped when dry, 
the margin plane in the upper part, distinctly recurved below, 
somewhat crenulate at the apex, and with an excurrent nerve 
forming a slight mucro. 

The fruiting season of H. ciliata is two months later than 
that of H. vulgaris, viz., June and July. It is found on rocks in. 
the mountainous parts of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ire- 
land. In both the inflorescence is monoicous, as is the case 
with Hncalypta commutata, and Hncalyptu rhabdocarpa. 

H. commutata, or the sharp-leaved extinguisher moss, has also 
branched and radiculose stems, which are slender and about an 
inch long, with ovate-lanceolate leaves, concave, acuminate, 
slightly unduiated, more or less spreading and squarrose from an 
erect sheathing base, and having an excurrent nerve. 

The capsule is smooth, sub-cylindrical, of thinnish texture, 
and seated on a reddish fruit-stalk. It has a simple annulus, 
but no peristome; and the calyptra is smooth all over, jagged 
and uneven at the base, but not frmged. The vaginula, as in 
Ei. vulgaris, is crowned by a conical cap of spongy tissue, whose 
base is bordered by a circlet torn from the base of the 
calyptra. 

The barren flowers of //. ciliata are found near the peri- 
chetium, they are gemmiform, but only three leaved ; those of 
FH. commutata are six-leaved, and are either axillary, or terminal 
on a branch, accompanied by numerous antheridia and para- 
physes; but H. commutata is sufficiently distinguished by its 
taper-pointed squarrose leaves, which are its unfailing charac- 
teristics. It appears to be limited in distribution, but grows 
near the summits of the Scottish mountains, and fruits in July 
and August. 

Eincalypta rhabdocarpa or the rib-fruited extinguisher moss, 
like the rest of the genus, has branched and radiculose stems, 
about half an inch long or rather more. “Its leaves are mode- 
rately spreading, lanceolate or ovate-oblong, acuminate and 


210 The Hxtinguisher Mosses. 


mucronate, or sometimes piliferous, concave, with a nerve 
thinner and paler than in H. vulgaris, generally exeurrent, but 
sometimes ceasing below the apex. The capsule is of an oblong 
form, striated, somewhat apophysate, ribbed and strongly 
furrowed when dry; the broad, longitudinal, coloured strize 
distinguishing it from all others. The fruit-stalk is red and 
twists towards the right. The calyptra is conico-campanulate, 
yellowish, scabrous or rugged at the apex, and shghtly jagged 
or uneven at the base. The annulus is simple and the peri- 
stome persistent, consisting of sixteen lanceolate, firm, trans- 
versely barred teeth, which are sometimes marked with a 
medial line, as if to show them to be double. They are 
inserted below the orifice of the capsule, and their position is 


erect when dry. The vaginula resembles that of H. vulgaris, 


with its little crown arising from the same cause; but the 
calyptra of rhabdocarpa is shorter, wider, and of a darker hue, 
the leaves more acute and tapering, and the fruiting season is 
July and August ; its habitats, the Scotch mountains, and Ben 
Bulben, Ireland. 

The only remaining British species is the spiral-fruited 
extinguisher moss, Encalypta streptocarpa, whose inflorescence, 
unlike the other species, is dioicous. In this the elongated stems, 
from one to two inches long, or even more, are still branched 
and radiculose. It grows in shady situations, on limestone 
or mortared walls, etc., sometimes on chalky banks, or on a 
marly soil, often in extensive patches, but is rarely found in 
fruit. The walls of a bridge near Dunkeld are mentioned as 
one of its fruiting habitats. It has also been found in various 
localities in Derbyshire, and near Bolton Bridge in Yorkshire. 
It fruits in the month of August. 2 

From its great length of stem, compared with the other 
members of the genus, one of our muscologists named it 
Encalypta grandis, but streptocarpa, from otperros, writhed, 
twisted, or twined, and xapzros, fruit, is far too graphic to be 
superseded by any other, its sub-cylindrical capsule being, 
when ripe and dry, marked with eight or nine spiral furrows, 
and ultimately twisted in the same direction towards the left. 
It has a compound, dehiscent annulus, and a double peristome, 
inserted very little below the orifice, the outer one consisting 
of sixteen long, narrow, nearly filiform, nodulose teeth, almost 
half as long as the capsule, marked with a medial line, and 
confluent at the base. They are of a purplish red, and erect, 
but slightly reflexed when dry. The inner peristome is 
formed of yellowish-brown ciliz, which alternate with the outer 
teeth, are about half their length, adhere closely to them, and 
unite in their lower half into a plicated membrane. ‘The 
spores are small and smooth, the barren-flowered plants more 


| 
. 


Our Atmosphere and the Hther of Space. 211 


slender than the fertile ones, their flowers gemmiform and 
terminal. 

The leaves are sub-erect, ligulate, or strap-shaped, obtuse 
and cuculate or hooded, at the apex, slightly crisped, or 
twisted when dry, with a purplish nerve ceasing at or near the 
apex; the upper leaves of a light green, the lower brownish, 
the pericheetial leaves approaching to obovate at the base, 
lanceolate subulate above, and erect. 

The calyptra is longer than in most of the species, sub- 
cylindrical, rostellate, approaching to subulate, rough and 
spinulose at the apex, lacinated, at first somewhat fringed at 
the base, of a yellowish brown colour, and coriaceous con- 
sistence. Its lacinated base arising from the same cause as 
that of E. ciliata, 1.e., from the spongy tissue crowning the 
vaginula, and which being of less firm consistence than the 
calyptra is torn away with it. 

The spiral ribs of the capsule are more deeply coloured, and 
are of firmer texture than the interstices between them. 

Thus we have attempted to describe all the hitherto known 
British species of this well-marked and interesting genus; and 
we trust that in so doing, we shall have furnished work for 
some microscopes, and pleasure for their possessors. 


OUR ATMOSPHERE AND THE ETHER OF SPACH. 


In the Inreniectuan Opsmrver, vol. ii. p. 408, we laid before 
our readers the views of M. Quetelet concerning the great 
probable height of our atmosphere, and its division into two 
parts, the lower one being the seat of much movement and 
agitation, the upper portion being extremely hght, stable, and 
probably of different chemical composition. In Cosmos (18th 
Feb., 1864) we find the following report of remarks on this 
subject by Father Secchi the Roman astronomer :— 

“The shooting stars observed at Rome years ago, with the 
aid of the telegraph, have given an approximative estimate of 
height of eighty kilométres at the least.* That indicates a 
much greater height of the atmosphere than is ordinarily 
supposed. But what is the composition of this atmosphere ? 
That is impossible to define. The phenomena of ordinary 
electricity carefully studied at the time of auroras may afford 
us some hght. I am of opinion that the idea, which is 
beginning to be accepted, that auroras depend upon dis- 
charges of atmospheric electricity in elevated regions is 
correct, and if so it will be very interesting to determine the 

* The kilométre is rather more than six-tenths of a mile (0'6214). 

VOL, V.—NO, III. Q 


212 Our Atmosphere and the Ether of Space. 


using the telegraph as an aid.” ; 

Cosmos also gives a letter from M. Hansteen of Christiana, 
to M. Quetelet, in which he says:—* Your ‘last article on 
shooting stars and their place of appearance, has particularly 
interested me, on account of the idea put forth by you and 
approved by Sir John Herschel, H. A. Newton, and Aug. 
de la Rive, that beyond the lower atmosphere in which we 
live—and which you call the unstable atmosphere — there 
exists a second atmosphere three times as high—and which you 
term the stable atmosphere—of different composition, much 
lighter, and therefore, so to say, more igneous. It is only in 
this latter atmosphere that auroras manifest their luminosity. 
The upper atmosphere in which auroras and shooting stars . 
appear as luminous bodies, may be nothing else than a very’ 
rarified hydrogen, very light and very inflammable. The 
period of revolution of Encke’s comet, which diminishes one- 
tenth of a day at each revolution, suggests the existence of a 
resisting medium, which is accounted for by supposing the 
presence of a certain ether, the nature of which is unknown. 
May not this ether be very rarified hydrogen diffused through 
space.” 

The suggestions of M. Hansteen, though interesting, are 
open to certain objections. Why does he imagine the upper 
atmosphere to consist of hydrogen? Is it simply because that 
is the lightest body we are acquainted with on the surface of 
our globe? There is no reason whatever to suppose that the 
lightest body we know must resemble in composition, or be 
identical with, any lighter body that may exist somewhere else 
under totally different conditions. Nor is there any reason for 
supposing that the inflammability of hydrogen would be aug- 
mented by enormous rarefaction. | 

When a body is called inflammable we should remember 
that the term is not very precise. 

It is customary to speak of certain bodies as being either 
combustible, or supporters of combustion; but the following 
vemarks of Professor Miller place this subject in a clear light 
and show how easily the terms become convertible. He 
tells us* that “a striking experiment may be performed with 
hydrogen, which shows how purely conventional are the terms 
‘combustible’ and ‘ supporters of combustion.’ Let a tall bottle 
with a narrow neck be filled with hydrogen gas; through a 
cork which passes easily into the neck of the bottle, fit a jet 
connected with a gas-holder containing oxygen; place the 
bottle mouth downwards and set fire to the hydrogen, then 
immediately insert the cork and jet through which a stream of 


* Elements of Chemistry, Part II, p, 48. Second edition. 


height of this meteor as seen from neighbouring places, and 


Our Atmosphere and the Ether of Space. 218 


oxygen is gently issuing. The flame will appear to attach itself to 
the oxygen tube, and the jet of oxygen will be burning in an 
atmosphere of hydrogen. Combustion in fact occurs at the 
place where the two gases first came into contact. Suppose 
for a moment that the earth’s atmosphere had contained 
hydrogen instead of oxygen; oxygen would have appeared to 
us in the light of a combustible gas; hydrogen in that of a 
supporter of combustion.” 

The term “ more igneous” may not be intelligible without 
considering the sense in which Sir John Herschel employed it, 
in the letter to M. Quetelet, from which M. Hansteen adopted 
it. Sir John said, that the great elevation of shooting stars above 
the earth ‘‘ leads to the conjecture of an upper aerial atmosphere, 
lighter and so to say more igneous.” Mr. Alexander Herschel 
has provided us with some remarks on this subject. He observes, 
“that according to the calculations of Thompson and Joule a body 
moving with a velocity of thirty-nine miles per second will 
heat the air, of whatever density, im immediate contact with 
it, two million degrees. Surely such velocities are more 
likely to exist in the highest and thinnest strata of the 
atmosphere, than in the lower denser parts, where storms and 
clouds, etc., are prepared, and in this sense the upper atmos- 
phere may be called the igneous atmosphere, because it is more 
exposed to such igneous catastrophes from which the lower 
strata is happily defended.” 

If we consider the effects of heat and pressure in modify- 
ing the condition of matter, it will appear probable that 
there are limits to the existence of compounds haying definite 
properties, both in a pressure range and a temperature range 
—that is to say, that no compound could be heated, or cooled, 
beyond a certain point without its becoming decomposed, or 
having its particles re-arranged into a new substance. And 
also that no compound could be condensed, or rarified, beyond 
certain limits without undergoing decomposition or change. 

The grounds for conceiving the earth’s atmosphere to be 
only forty or fifty miles high were incomplete. It was supposed 
that at about that distance from the earth the elasticity of the 
air and the force of gravity balanced each other. M. Quetelet 
now shows reason for believing that an upper atmosphere 
exists, and he assigns to it a different composition. May it 
not result from a resolution of the earth’s lower atmosphere 
into some other form of matter? Oxygen and nitrogen may 
be compound bodies, and may be decomposed under such 
remarkable conditions of temperature, pressure, etc. yen if 
we regard them as simple substances, we have no right to limit 
their capacity for existing under different conditions, and with 
very different properties. The difficulty of defining a species 


214 Our Atmosphere and the Ether of Space. 


extends to chemistry, and it is far from easy to say what con- 
stitutes oxygen, for example. In zoology the idea of heredi- 
tariness, or common descent, comes into the species idea; in 
chemistry identity of constitution and properties is sufficient. 
But is ozone identical in constitution with oxygen, of which 
it is called an allotropicform? IfM. Soret is right* in affirm- 
ing that it is composed of a plurality of oxygen atoms arranged 
in a particular way, we must be either prepared to regard it 
as another substance, or to deny that the mode in which atoms 
are aggregated and the special properties thus developed, give 
rise to different species of substances. It may be said that 
ozone is not after all sufficiently unlike oxygen to require a 
separate name; but what of antozone? Schdnbein considers 
that when one portion of oxygen ig converted into ozone 
another portion passes into the state of antozone, which differs 
in properties from ordinary oxygen and from ozone. Antozone 
and ozone he considers in opposite polar conditions, and that 
when they come together they neutralize each other and 
produce ordinary oxygen. If so they act like distinct and 
different substances, exhibiting an affinity for each other. 

M. Hansteen’s supposition that the ether, or fluid conceived 
to exist in space, is like the upper atmosphere of our earth is 
worth consideration ; but if so, that upper atmosphere must be 
capable of the requisite attenuation without being changed into 
another substance. Is it not a more probable supposition that 
however slowly the process may take place, all the bodies that 
swim in space contribute to the space atmosphere or ether, 
which would thus be composed of the most volatile’ and 
attenuated forms the materials of the various globes can assume 
when their normal cohesive and affinity forces are diminished 
or over-balanced by repulsive forces or new affinities ? 

Does it not seem improbable that each globe should retain for 
ever all the particles that it started with? Is not a circulation 
of matter more consonant with analogy? Why should the 
space atmosphere not only be added to, but taken from? Can 
our sun and all other suns be burning, or condensing it? The 
enormous temperature usually assigned to the solar photosphere 
may dissociate ordinary compounds, and develope powerful 
affinities between photosphere matter and the space atmos- 
phere, and if it condensed millions of cubic miles with sufficient 
volocity, enormous heat would be produced. 


With reference to the ether, or space atmosphere, it may be | 


observed that the quantity of matter which is contained in a 
given volume of it, may not afford any measure of its resistance 
to planetary motion. In a paper on molecular mechanics, by 
the Rey. Joseph Bayma, published in the Proceedings of the 


* See INTELLECTUAL OxsERYER, vol. iv. p. 308. 


‘ 


— Anchoring Mollusks. 215 
Royal Society, No. 16, that gentleman affirms that ‘if a body 


does not contain any repulsive elements, it cannot cause any 
retardation in the movement of an impinging body ;” and other 
reasons might be assigned to account for the small retardation 
of moving bodies without assuming a tenuity calculated from 
the known properties of atmospheric air. 

Mr. Bayma’s theory is not the only one that might account 
for the resistance offered by the space-atmosphere to a moving 
body, not being proportionate to the actual quantity of matter 
contained in a given bulk of it. What is called vis inertia is 
not, as we have remarked in another paper, simply do-nothing- 
ness, but the result of active forces, one of which is gravitation, 
and we have certainly no right to assume that gravitation is an 
attribute or property of matter under all conditions. _ It may 
be one of an unknown number of correlative forces, and the 
force which acts as gravitation under one set of conditions, may 
appear in another character when the conditions are changed. 

These speculations may be dreams and nothing more; but 
a little dreaming is good for scientific progress, provided the 
process of dreaming is not vainly conceived to be a process of 

roof. 
As our object in publishing these conjectures is to stimulate 
thought and inquiry, we will either print in extenso, or give an 
account of any important communications we may receive on 
any of the points discussed. 


ANCHORING MOLLUSKS. 


BY W. NEWTON MACCARTNEY, 
Cor. Secretary Glasgow Naturalists’ Society. 


Ar the end of the last century the rage for conchology reached 
its climax, and then slowly declined. In its place the study 
of malacology engrossed the attention of many of those who 
had only gathered shells for the beauty of their form and the 
brightness of their colours. The possession of a cabinet of 
shells fifty years ago (and in many cases, even now) did not 
bestow upon the owner any knowledge of their structure or 
habits, and it was only when he gathered, observed, and dis- 
sected that he gained that essential knowledge which, while 
benefiting himself, would help the progress of the science. 
The shell to the conchologist may be of interest, but the 
animal which inhabits the shell will give a more enduring 
pleasure to the malacologist who studies its structure and 
observes its habits. 

During the rage of shell-collecting, when a Carinaria 


216 Anchoring Mollusks. 


brought 100 guineas, and Conus gloria-maris half that sum, 
the parts of the animal which are the subject of this paper 
could not be studied, as, invariably before they were passed 
into the cabinet of the shell collector, they were cleaned from 
the specimen. However, in our times, when the animal is 
studied, as well as the shell admired, these organs by which 
the animal anchors itself may without difficulty be examined, 
and cannot fail to interest the observer. 

The byssus of the mussel, and the pedicle of the lamp- 
shells, are considered to be of little, if any, importance in their 
study, and consequently not bemg much examined, some little 
things require to be explained, and some misapprehensions 
cleared away. Se 

The importance of the cables in both these classes of» 
mollusca, cannot be over-estimated by the paleontologist; for, 
in his explorations, he often disentombs large numbers of 
brachwopoda which have lived and died on the spot where he 
finds them. He is disposed to wonder why such quantities 
have gathered together, and it is only when he finds them to 
belong to the class of shells which anchor themselves to the sea- 
bottom that his amazement ceases. They can by means of 
their pedicle resist the scattering tendencies of the wayes, and 
not being disturbed, the places where they have taken up their 
abode becomes densely populated, while spots not very far 
distant cannot boast a specimen. ‘To the naturalists the know- 
ledge of the mussel’s habits sufficiently explain the colonjes of 
them which occur in places suitable for their development. 

During the geologic ages the lampshells, or Terebratulide, 
existed in great numbers, and in many cases the opening by 
which the pedicle protruded is distinctly visible. ‘Then, as 
now, they attached themselves to rocks, stones, branches of 
corals, and every ‘coigne of vantage,” and there hung freely 
suspended, swaying to and fro with the pulsations of the mighty 
ocean. In our still and deep lochs they are often brought up 
in the dredge, and if the locality is suitable, that is, of a cal- 
careous silt, or muddy bottom, every small stone, or large 
shell, will have these little lampshells clinging to it. These 
shells are now but meagrely represented, when we consider the 
immense multitudes which swarmed in the seas during the 
deposition of the carboniferous limestone. ‘There the sepulchres 
of countless thousands belonging to many species may be opened 
in every quarry. 

The mussel, by means of its byssus,is able to remain secure 
on rocky coasts, where otherwise it would be dashed to pieces 
by the first rude storm. ‘The fisherman, who uses them for 
bait, chooses a calm summer’s day to place upon his new mussel 
farm the boat-load which he has forced to emigrate to “pastures 


Anchoring Mollusks. 217 


new.” He knows that stormy weather would result in hig 
emigrants being driven on shore; so he chooses his time, that 
the mussels may spin their cable and anchor securely. The 
owner of piers also requires to tend the crop of mussel care- 
fully, so that they may cover the wooden piles, and thus protect 
them from the attacks of the boring shells. Some people 
think that they are useless on the wooden piers, and con- 
sequently scrape them off, considering that they destroy the 
piles, and eat into the wood. 

Let it not be understood that the pedicle of the lampshell 
and the byssus of the mussel perform the same function. The 
pedicle, like the byssus, anchors the shell, but, unlike the 
byssus, assists the pedicle in closing and opening the shell. It is 
a fleshy cable, composed of fibres which are contractile. This 
cable is attached at one end to the stone by a kind of glutinous 
substance, and at the other to the upper or ventral valve. 
Within a little distance from the foramen, or little hole through 
which it passes into the shell, muscles are attached. These join. 
on to the pedicle near to the point of emergence, and are also 
attached to the dorsal valve by the other end. The hinge of 
the shell is at the foramen. When the animal is at rest, and 
not disturbed, the pedicle is uncontracted, and the shell open: 
The cable being at its longest range, allows the shell to hang 
free, and to have a pretty wide range; but whenever danger 
approaches instantly the pedicle contracts, the shell by that 
action shuts, and at the same time darts backward a little 
towards its anchorage, out of the way of the intruder. The 
pedicle contracts, and the muscles which are attached to the 
pedicle contract at the same moment, and. the shell is fast 
closed, to be opened when danger is past. 

In the mussel the byssus acts no part similar to this. When 
once it is spun it is lifeless. The visitor to the seashore will 
find that it is made up of a great many small threads, which 
have taken avery firm hold. These are connected with the 
interior of the shell, and are extremely strong. The question 
suggests itself, how are these threads spun, and how do they 
fasten to the rock? The mussel has no spinnarets like the 
spider or the silkworm. That there is a sticky secretion no 
one can doubt; but of what it is composed, and how it is 
secreted, is yet to be discovered. A Glasgow naturalist has 
observed the process of plating the cable, which may be briefly 
described. The foot was protruded, fat and fleshy, and touch- 
ing the side of a glass jar, it remained for a time in contact. 
After withdrawal nothing was noticed for a moment, but then 
slowly a little thread became visible, and the first thread of the 
cable was laid, which was followed by another, and another, as 
the foot touched the side of the glass. There must, we think, 


218 Comets. 


be a secreting surface either in the foot or easy of access to it ; 
and that secretion hardens and blackens by exposure to the 
water. The threads are attached to the shell, and have no 
connection with the internal economy of the animal. The 
byssus spun by the Pinna has been used with silk, and spun 
into some articles of dress. That of the great horse-mussel is 
exceedingly fine, and if it could be obtained in sufficient abun- 
dance might be used in commerce. 

In conclusion, could not a series of experiments be made on 
the mussel (Mytilus edulis), to discover how it spins its cable, 
and where it gets the material? By discovering this, we could 
then with certainty understand how the Lima and other shells 
make their nest, for they also use silken fibres to bind the 
materials of which their house is built. 


Ne 


COMETS. 


AN ACCOUNT OF ALL THE COMETS WHOSE ORBITS HAVE NOT BEEN CALCULATED. 


BY G, F. CHAMBERS, 


(Continued from page 384, vol. iv.) 


663. On September 27 a comet 2° long was seen near € 
Bodtis. On September 29 it had disappeared.—(Ma-tuoan- 
lin.) 
667. On May 24 a comet was seen in the N.E., between 
Auriga, the Pleiades, and Taurus.—(Gaubil.) On June 12 
it disappeared.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

668. In May or June a comet was seen for a few days in 
Auriga.—(De Mailla, vi. 145.) Is it certain that this comet differs 
from the preceding f—(Pingré, i. 331.) 

676. [i.] On ee 4 a comet 5° long was discovered to 
the 8. of a and € Virginis.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

676. [ii.] ‘In the month of August a comet showed itself 
in the HE. for three months, from the time of cock-crowing till 
morning. Its rays penetrated the heavens; all nations beheld 
with admiration its rising; at length, returning upon itself, it 
disappeared,”—(Anastas, Historia Heclesiastica ; Paul Diacon. 
v. 31.) On September 4 a comet appeared near to a and B 
Geminorum; it moved towards the N.E. Its tail, at first 
3° long, afterwards increased to 30°, and pointed towards » 
and y« Urse Majoris. On November 1 it had disappeared.— 
(Ma-tuoan-lin ; Gaubil.) . 


Comets. 219 


681. On October 17 a comet 50° long was seen near a 
Herculis; gradually diminishing in size it moved towards a 
Aquilz, and disappeared on November 3.—(Gaubil.) 

683. On April 20 a comet was seen near « Auriga. On 
May 15 it had disappeared.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

684 [i.] On September 6 a comet 10° was seen long in the 
evening towards the W. On October 9 it had disappeared.— 
(Gaubil.) Hind remarks that this single account will tolerably 
well describe the position which Halley’s comet must have been 
in at its return to perihelion in this year; so, doubtless, this 
was that celebrated body.—(Comp. to Almanac, 1860, p. 88.) 

684 [u.] On November 11 a star like a half-moon was seen 
in the N.—Ma-tuoan-lin. 

707. On November 16 a comet appeared in the W.; on 
December 18 it had ceased to be visible-—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

708. [i.] On March 31 a comet appeared between the 
Pleiades and Musca.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

708. [ii.] On September 21 a comet appeared within the 
circle of perpetual apparition.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) , 

711. In the 92nd year of the Hegira a comet endued 
with a sensible motion appeared for eleven days.—(Haly. 
Inber Ptolemei Comment.) The year 92 of the Hegira 
lasted from 710, Oct. 29, to 711, Oct. 18. . 

712. In August a comet emerged from the W., and 
passed to near 8 Leonis, etc.—(De Mailla, vi. 199.) 

716. A comet of a terrible aspect, with its tail directed to- 
wards the Pole, is said to been seen this year, but we have only 
a modern authority for the statement.—(Sabellicus, Omnia 
Opera, Ennead. viii. lib. vii., Basileze, 1560.) 

729. Several writers speak of two comets visible for four- 
teen days in the month of January, the one after sunset and 
the other before sunrise.—(Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica, v. ; 
Herveld, Chronicon Historie Germanice.) It is easy to see 
that a single comet with a Right Ascension not differing 
much from that of the Sun, but with a high North Declination, 
would be seen both after sunset and before sunrise, and thus 
fulfil the statement of the chroniclers. Donati’s great comet 
of 1858 was so visible for several weeks in the month of Sep- 
tember of that year. 

730. On August 29 a comet was seen in Auriga; on 
September 7 it spread its light over the Hyades and Pleiades. 
—(Gaubil.) Ma-tuoan-lin says that the comet of September 
7 was not the same as that of August 29. 

738. On April 1 a comet was seen within the circle of per- 
petual apparition. It traversed the square of Ursa Major, 
and was observed for ten days or more, when clouds interfered. 
—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 


220 Comets. 


Ke 744, A great comet was seen in Syria.—(Theophanes, p. 
3.) . 
762. A comet was seen in the H. like unto a beam.— 
(Theophanes, p. 363.) “. 

767. On January 22 a comet 1° long was seen near a and 8 
Delphini. It was visible for three weeks.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

773. On January 17 a great star appeared below the belt 
of Orion.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

813. “On August 4 a comet was seen, which resembled 
two moons joined together; they separated, and having taken 
different forms, at length appeared like a man without a head.” 
—(Theophanes, p. 423.) In spite of the strangeness of this 
description, Pingré considers it to be really that of a comet, and 
thinks it is possible to find an explanation in the comet’s pecu- 


liar position with regard to the Sun and the Harth.—(Comét. i. 


338.) 

815. In April or Maya great comet appeared in the vicinity 
of 6 Leonis.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

817. On February 5, at the second hour of the night, a 
monstrous comet was seen in Sagittarius.—(Vita Ludovict Pi.) 
On February 17 the comet was in the Hyades.—(Ma-tuoan- 
lin.) 

€21 [i.] On February 27 a comet was seen in Crater. On 
March 7 it was near ¢ Leonis.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

821 [ii.] In July a comet with a tail 10° long was seen in 
the Pleiades. After ten days it disappeared.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

828. On September 3 a comet with a tail 2° lone was seen 
near 7 Bootis.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

834, On October 9 a comet with a tail 10° long was seen 
near 6 Leonis. It went northwards beyond Coma -Berenicis. 
On September 7 it had disappeared.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) . 

837 [1i.] On September 10 a comet was seen in Aquarius. 
—(Ma-tuoan-lin ; Boéthius, Scotorwm Historia, x.) 

838 [i.] On November 11 a comet was seen near 6 Corvi. 
—(Ma-tuoan-lin. 

838 [ii.] On November 21 a comet was seen in the FH. 
in the sidereal divisions y Sagittarius, and yw? Scorpio. It ex- 
tended in the heavens H. and W.; on‘*December 28 it had 
disappeared.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

839 [i.] On January 1 a comet was seen in Arios.— 
(Annales Hrancorum Fuldenses.) On February 7 a comet was 
seen near y Aquariii—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) Pingré thinks the latter 
could not have been the European comet of January 1.— 
(Comet. i. 614.) 

839 [ii.] On March 12 a comet was seen to the N. of », 
e, €, € Persei. On April 14 it had disappeared.—(Ma-tuoan- 


lin.) 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 221 


840 [i.] On March 20 a comet was seen between the side- 
real divisions of « and y Pegasi. After three weeks it dis - 
appeared.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


BY W. B. TEGETMEIER, 


STATISTICAL SOCIETY.—Feb. 16. 


Erreots or Oprn-arr Exercise on Loncuviry.—In a very elaborate 
paper on the reports of the Registrar-General, Mr. Sargant brought 
forward some remarkable facts, showing the influence of out- 
door occupation and exercise in lessening the rate of mortality; 
and that of almost all in-door occupations, long continued, in raising 
the rate of mortality of the classes following them. 

The greater longevity of persons living in the country appears 
almost wholly due to the greater proportion of out-door occupation ; 
inasmuch as shopkeepers and others following sedentary pursuits in 
the country have no well-marked vital superiority over the same 
classes In towns; whereas farm labourers, though exposed to the 
effects of wet, attain a greater longevity than any class of mechanics 
working in a confined atmosphere. 

Hyen scavengers in towns, who are exposed to very great impuri- 
‘ties, are long-lived, owing to the vital influence of the open air in 
which they follow their occupation. 


MANCHESTER LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL 
SOCIETY .—Feb. 23. 


PREPARATION OF CaLcrum.—A paper was communicated by Mr. E. 
Sonstadt on the preparation of the metal Calcium. After describing 
the well-known difficulties which have hitherto prevented calcium 
being prepared except in very small quantity, Mr. Sonstadt described 
his new process, which consists in fusing together iodide of potas- 
sium and chloride of calcium, The mixture, whilst still liquid, is 
poured into an iron crucible and permitted to solidify. The mass 
is then thrown out, and rather less than an equivalent proportion of 
sodium placed in the bottom of the crucible; the solid mixture of 
potassium and calcium salts being replaced above it. The cover is 
then closely luted on, and the crucible heated to redness for a short 
time. The reaction that ensues is not violent, and the calcium re- 
mains in the crucible in a solid mass. 

At the same meeting the practical advantage arising from the 
improvements of Mr. Sonstadt in the manufacture of the metal 
Magnesium were shown. Ten grains of magnesium wire were burnt, 
giving a light which lasted for one minute, during which time an 


222 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


excellent negative photograph of a bust. by Chantrey was taken by 
Mr. Brothers. 

The photographs produced by magnesium light are of a very 
agreeable character; and as the amount of metal required is very 
small, the process is not expensive, and it is probable that it may 
come into general use. - 


GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.—Feé. 19. 


Succession or British Mesozorc Srraraw—The President in 
his anniversary address discussed the breaks in the succession of the 
British Mesozoic Strata. First, he examined the numerical relations 
which different classes bore to one another in Paleozoic times, 
comparing them with their development in secondary epochs. The 
general conclusion arrived at was that a long interval of time, often, 
stratigraphically unrepresented, is an invariable accompaniment of 
a break in the succession of species; and the more special inference 
was that, in cases of superposition, in proportion as the species are 
more or less continuous, that is to say, as the break in life is partial 
or complete, first in the species, but more importantly in the loss of 
old and the appearance of new genera, so was the interval of time 
shorter or longer that elapsed between the close of the lower and 
the commencement of the upper formation. 


Feb, 24: 


Recent Discoveries or Furst ImpLements 1x Drirr Deposits 
iN Hants and Witrs.—Flint implements having recently been 
found on the sea-shore, about midway between Southampton and 
Gosport, and also at Fisherton near Salisbury, Mr. J. Evans visited 
these localities in company with Mr. Prestwich, and gave the results 
of his observations. 

After describing the implements from near Southampton, and 
having shown that their condition is identical with that of the 
materials composing the gravel capping the adjacent cliff, Mr. 
Evans maintained the great antiquity of these remains, as proved 
by the circumstance that the gravel-beds, like those of Reculver, 
are of fluviatile origin, although now abutting on the sea. 

Mr. Evans then described the Fisherton implements, and the 
gravel-pits from which they were obtained. The relation of the 
high-level gravels (in which the implements were found) to the 
lower-level gravels of the Valley of the Avon was discussed, and the 
geological features of the former deposits particularly described; lists 
of the fossils (including the mammalia and the land and freshwater 
shells) being also given. Mr. Evans came to the conclusion that 
the fossils bore evidence of the climate, at the time when they were 
deposited, having been more rigorous, at any rate in the winter, 
than it now is; and to this cause he attributed the comparatively 
greater excavating power of the early Post-pliocene rivers. 

March 9. 


On tue Discovery or THE Scares or Preraspisi—Mr. HE. R. 
Lankester communicated a paper on the Pteraspis, in which the suc- 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 223 


cessive steps by which the genus was established, and the grounds 
on which the prevalent opinion as to its ichthyic nature rests, were 
noticed. The author then proceeded to describe the scales, which 
have lately being discovered at Cradley, near Malvern, and which 
alone were required to remove all doubt as to the affinities of the 
genus: he compared these scales with those of Cephalaspis, to some 
of which they bear a great resemblance. 


ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—Warch 1. 


Tue Turory or NaruraL SELECTION AS APPLIED TO THE HuMmAN 
Races.—In a paper on this subject Mr. Wallace maintained that the 
theory of natural selection, as influenced by physical structure, 
could not be applied to explain the origin of the different races of 
men in the same manner as it could be employed to account for the 
origin of varieties and species in the lower animals. 

“In animals a deficiency of any one organ or faculty would of 
necessity lead to the destruction of the race in the struggle for life. 
But in man any such deficiency may be supplied by means of the 
division of labour, by which an individual unfitted for one occupa- 
tion could follow another; and also by the assistance and sympathy 
which always existed even in the lowest races of mankind. More- 
over, by the formation and use of artificial weapons mankind can 
compensate for any deficiency in strength or agility. 

These causes acting conjointly remove man from the influence of 
“natural selection,” as far as regards his physical structure ; but its 
action is transferred to the mind. Those races with the highest 
intellectual endowments, capable of the greatest amount of organiza- 
tion, and the fabrication of the most efficient arms, would of necessity 
overcome and eventually extirpate the inferior races. Hence it was 
_ argued that the possession of an intelligent mind removed mankind 
from the operation of the laws of natural selection ; consequently 
his physical structure remained unchanged, except as far as regards 
slight and accidental variations. 

It was shown that this theory harmonized many of the hitherto 
conflicting views of anthropologists, by demonstrating why races 
have so long remained unchanged, and are apparently unchangeable. 
At the same time, it offers no opposition to the generally received 
opinion of the unity of the human race. 


ROYAL INSTITUTION.—WMarch 4. 


Tar Discrimination or OrGaAnic Bopres By THEIR Oprican Pro- 
pertis.—In a lecture on the detection of organic bodies by means of 
their spectra, Prof. Stokes showed an exceedingly simple and practical 
mode of distinguishing between substances of similar appearance. 
The solution of the body to be examined is placed in a test-tube, 
behind a slit in a small opaque board; light is allowed to pass 
through the tube, which is looked at with a small prism, used with 
the naked eye, when the characteristic appearance of the substance 


224 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


is at once evident. In this manner solutions of blood and of port 
wine of equal intensity of colour are capable of being instantly dis- 
tinguished from each other. 

Prof. Stokes has applied this test to the green colouring matter 
of the bile, supposed by Berzelius to be identical with chlorophyll, 
and has discovered that it is perfectly distinct. Chlorophyll yields 
solutions in alcohol, ether, etc., which are characterized by very 
strongly marked bands of absorption, that are wholly absent in the 
solutions of the colouring matter of the bile, which has been named 
Biliverdin. There is no doubt but that the easy and practical mode 
of discrimination designed by Prof. Stokes will be of very great 
value to the working chemist and medical jurist in the distinction 
of organic substances of nearly similar appearance. 


ARCHAOLOGICAL INSTITUTEH.—WMarch 4. x | 


Anormnt Haprrations In ANGLESEA.—TheHonourableW. O. Stanley 
communicated a very interesting account of the remarkable circular 
habitations found in Anglesea, being particularly abundant in the 
neighbourhood of Holyhead. These habitations, which are usually 
from 15 to 20 feet in diameter, are designated as Cuttier Gwyddelod, 
or the Irishmen’s huts, in the maps of the Ordnance Survey; there 
appears, however, but little doubt that the title is an erroneous one. 

Each habitation is formed of turf, with two stones forming the 
sides of the entrance ; these are often found standing in the erect posi- 
tion. A detailed’ description was given of the opening by Mr. Stanley 
and Mr. Albert Way ofa village consisting of upwards of one hundred 
houses, standing on a terrace about six hundred yards in length from 
north-east to south-west. On this terrace the houses were placed 
close together, but without any regularity or plan, except that 
the openings were almost always turned towards the south-east. 

A very early age was assigned to these dwellings by the 
author of the paper, who regarded them as having being constructed 
before the use of iron or other metals was known in the locality. 
He thought therefore that they must have been erected by the abo- 
rigines long before the invasion of the Romans; and not, as their 
popular name implies, by immigrants from Ireland. 

Mr. Morgan. stated that dwellings of a precisely similar charac- 
ter existed in Monmouthshire, which certainly were not the work 
of Irish invaders. 


Notes and Memoranda. 925 


NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 


‘GERMS OF InFusoRi1a.—M. le Vicomte Gaston d’Auvray has addressed a let- 
ter to the French Academy, stating that by means of an apparatus,which he calls 
a dialyser, he filters water or other liquid so as to separate and collect the germs 
of Infusoria. He finds two sorts of germs, greenish grey and pearly white. He 
says they exist in all water, even when distilled, although most plentiful in that 
which isimpure. In air he also finds them, and they abounded in the thick fog of 
2nd of December, 1863. All the grey germs are spherical, varying in diameter 
from 0™™.00024 and 0™",00034. The pearl white corpuscles are of three sorts: 
A and B spherical, their diameter being 0™",00040 and 0™",00065; C are ovoid, 
with lesser axis, 0™",00065, and major axis 0"",00080. The grey corpuscles he 
calls germs of protophytes ; the white, of animalcules, among which he includes 
vibrions. Ifthe corpuscles are all removed from water, but the debris of organic 
matter, such as bits of textile fabrics, vegetable epiderm, pollen grains, butterfly 
scales, smoke particles, allowed to remain in a flask which is sealed hermetically, 
no life is developed, and the result is negative if some white of the white corpus- 
cles are added. If however some of the greenish grey corpuscles are added, first 
protophytes, then amcebe, monads, and vibrions appear. If into these flasks con- 
taining the grey corpuscles, the white ones, A,B, and C are added, A yields 
amcebee, B monads, and C vibrions. M. d’Auvray states that he is preparing a 
work on this subject, and when the details are known his experiments can be ' 
checked by other observers. One of his most remarkable statements that demand 
verification, that some germs are able to withstand strong acids, prolonged boiling, 
or attempts at calcination, by passing the air containing them through red hot 
tubes. 


Corrins’ Brnocvnar Mrcroscorr.—This is a large, handsome instrument, 
presenting some novel and ingenious peculiarities. It carries two object-glasses 
ona dovetailed arm, sliding in a groove, so that a change of powers can be 
instantly made. We should think this mode of construction would require even 
greater attention to accuracy than the ordinary double nose-piece ; but, if accu- 
rately centered, it affords certain advantages. The next important speciality is 
the facility with which the polarizer (carried under the stage) can be brought 
into play, and the analyser made to replace the prism of the binocular arrange- 
ment, by drawing in or out the slide which carries both. In certain chemical and 
medical investigations, these arrangements are very convenient, and several emi- 
nent members of the medical profession have expressed great satisfaction with 
Mr. Collins’ labours. 

The stage is furnished with a magnetic bar, and if likewise supplied with the 
ordinary object-holder and clip, its range of utility would be jincreased, as the 
magnetic plan, though good for slides, is not well adapted for heavier articles like 
zoophyte troughs. We carefully examined the optical part of one of these instru- 
ments and found it fully equal to all ordinary requirements. Mr. Collins has 
taken an honourable place amongst those opticians who offer students a great deal 
of convenience for a small sum of money. In first-rate, costly instruments all 
kinds of wants are provided for; but where price is an object, the purchaser 
must consider what he stands most in need of, and what he can best dispense 
with. Under such circumstances tastes and necessities will lead to much 
difference of opinion, but it would be admitted on all sides, that Mr. Collins’ 
binocular is well entitled to consideration, and likely to meet the wishes of a large 
class. 


New Sovror or Porasu.—A coyral-red subtranslucent mineral, reported 
to have been obtained from Cheshire, has been submitted to analysis by 
Professor Church. He has identified it with the carnallite of M. H. Rose; it 
contained 25°7 per cent. of chloride of potassium. It is most probable that this 
rich source of potash overlies the rock-salt beds of this country as well as those of 
the foreign localities where carnallite has been found. It has been suggested that 
it was formed in the /asé stages of the drying up of ancient seas. 


216 Notes and Memoranda. 


PERMEABILITY OF Merars at Hien Temprratures.—M. L. Cailletet has 
made the following communication to the French Academy. After remarking 
upon the facts mentioned by MM. H. St. Claire Deville and Troost, who found 
that iron at a high temperature was completely permeable for oxygen, and that a 
tube, heated in a furnace, and filled with hydrogen, allowed that gas to escape so 
that a vacuum was formed, M. Cailletet proceeds to detail his own experiments. 
He says—“TI passed portions of a gun-barrel through rollers till they were 
flattened. The ends were then welded (soudées). Thus rectangular pieces of iron 
were obtained, formed of two plates in contact, and sealed at their extremities. 
On strongly heating one of these pieces in a furnace, the non-welded portions 
separated, and resumed the cylindrical form and their original volume. It could 
not, therefore, be doubted that the gases of the furnace had penetrated the mass 
of iron and distended its walls.” ‘To a similar action Mr. Cailletet ascribes the 
cavities in large masses of forged iron; and he states that in the process of cemen- 
tation, acier poule, or steel with vesicles, is constantly produced ; but if soft, per- 
ferfectly homogeneous iron, such as can be obtained by keeping melted steel for 
several hours at a high temperature,_be employed, it is reconverted into steel 
without blisters. M.H. St. Claire Deville remarks upon this communication that — 
it is “very interesting and conclusive,” and he adverts to the discharge of gag’ 
from molten matter often observed in metallurgical operations. These gases, he 
considers, penetrate the walls of the crucibles by endosmose, and give rise to 
bubbles in the metals. 


Aotion or PorcenaIn anp Lavas ar Hiaa TrmMPrraTURES ON GasES— 
PossiBpLE AcTION oF THE Moon.—M. Ch. St. Claire Deville makes allusion to 
the preceding facts, and states that his brother and M. Troost have shown that if 
hydrogen traverses without difficulty the walls of a porcelain tube at a high 
temperature, it does not do so when the tube begins to soften or vitrify. The gas 
is then absorbed by the vitrified surface, from whence it escapes, leaving it porous. 
He connects these facts with the appearance of certain lavas. He says the lavas of 
Vesuvius, whatever the rate of their cooling, are always crystalline, and that they 
disengage aqueous vapour, chlorides, sulphides, etc., as the crystallizstion pro- 
ceeds, just as oxygen escapes from silver that takes the rocky form, or air escapes 
from freezing water. The crystallization of lavas he states to be accompanied by 
increase of density and evolution of heat. He traces a resemblance between the 
Campi Phlegrsei and the surface of the moon, and considers that the latter may 
have behaved like eruptive matter with excess of silica, which has a tendency to 
consolidate in a vitreous form, and imprisons gaseous matter in its solidification, 


M. Viau’s Process or EnGravine.—The lines are drawn on steel with a 
fatty ink, or transferred to the steel, which is then plunged in a bath, saturated 
with sulphate of copper, and accidulated with! nitric acid. In five minutes the 
plate is removed and washed; the copper is removed with ammonia, and the 
engraving is finished. The explanation is that the metallic solution deposits 
copper on those parts of the plate which are not covered with ink. This copper 
is removed by the final washing. The acid penetrates the ink slowly, and when 
this is accomplished a galvanic circuit is completed between the deposited copper 
and the steel, protected by the ink from the simple deposition. The steel becomes 
the positive pole, and is attacked by the sulphuric acid liberated from the copper 
by the free nitric acid. M. Vial states that this action is strongest where the ink 
is thickest, and that lines are thus etched of the proper depth and thickness. The 
copper that results from the electro-chemical decomposition is said to be thrown 
down on the borders of the lines, and to lift up the ink so as to form the pattern 
in raised copper, which is removed by the ammonia, ‘The process was favourably 
reported on by a Commission of the French Academy; and when recently 
exhibited at the Society of Arts, some practical engravers present thought it 
would be adapted to the cheap and conyenient reproduction of effects not requiring 
the aid of shading in cross lines. ; 


Cee PATRIA ys aay] 
92 Ee wt tes 


bs 


: oe 
ain Sots 


wo 9% 
i 
a! 


“CASTLEMAINE 


Dies 7 \4 Cromane PS 


ROSBEG IH 
ISLAND 
} (Peninsula 


elery c=) LowerCoal 
== S F 
Gila ilurian =a! Series \ 


Seale in English mies 4 
— Devonian ==> Limestone 


The figures in Castlemaine Harbour 
give the depth in fathoms at low water 


} of ordinary spring udes, and the shad- | 
j ing shows sund-banks which are left 


es te dry when the tide goes out, 


Map of a small portion of the County of Kerry, showing the district in which the 
Natterjack Toad is found indigenous. 


Natterjack ‘load uto Calamita) from Co. Kerry 


THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER. 


MAY, 1864. 


THE NATTERJACK TOAD IN IRELAND. 
BY THE HON. MRS. WARD. 
(With a Coloured Plate.) 


My object in the following remarks on the Natterjack Toad in 
Ireland is to present to the reader, in a tangible form, a little 
information which has apparently remained latent for a long 
time, not reaching the general public, so far as I am aware, and 
certainly not becoming known to myself till about a year ago, 
when I learned it in various accidental ways. 

A paragraph appeared in a Dublin daily newspaper, the 
Irish Times, on October 1st, 1862, headed “‘ Irish Toads and 
their use.” It stated that the rarer British toad (Bufo cala- 
mata) is an inhabitant of certain districts in the county of Kerry. 
“These Irish toads,” continued the writer, “are very pretty 
creatures, utterly devoid of that cold slime and general ugliness 
which render frogs an object of aversion. They are quiet little 
beings, and are readily tamed ;” and it was added that they 
would be found very useful in a greenhouse, being expert de- 
stroyers of aphides and other insects. I did not agree with the 
writer’s denunciation of the frogs; but I was greatly interested 
in the statement about the natterjack toad being found in 
Ireland, as it tended to confirm an anecdote which I had heard 
in England two months previously. I wrote to ask the editor 
on i authority the existence of Bufo calamita in Kerry was 
stated. 

In reply I was referred to the work of Dr. Charles A. 
Cameron, M.R.I.A., a Guide to the Royal Zoological Gardens, 
Phenix Park,* where, at p. 46, I read, “The common toad, 
(Bufo vulgaris) is a native of England, but is never met with 
in Ireland, its place being occupied by the natterjack toad 
(Bufo calamita), which, however, is exceedingly rare, and con- 
fined to the county of Kerry.” The proprietor of the Irish Times 


* M‘Glashan and Gill, Dublin, 1861. 
VOL. V.-—NO. IV. R 


230 The Natterjack Toud m Ireland. 


stripe along the back appearing more strongly conspicuous. 
Flies, grasshoppers, beetles, and the larve of insects are their 
general food, which they take (only when the object is in 
motion) by darting their tongue with astonishing rapidity and 
precision. Their note is a pleasing chirp; but in the breeding 
season at night they keep a continued and confused noise, like 
to the action of a number of spinning-wheels. Strangers that 
visit Rosbegh during the bathing season do not like occupying 
the cottages near to the beach, being alarmed at the nightly 
pranks of these lively but harmless little creatures.* The 
peasantry have the greatest horror and even dread of them, 
and on my expressing my astonishment (at the Dingle side) at 
the number of those reptiles congregated about Rosbegh, was 
readily answered [in Irish]— 
“Wild Iveragh of the blue dragons, 
Glencar, in which no corn ever grew, 


And the high and horrid hills to the west of Desmond, 
All which Saint Patrick never thought worth blessing. 


‘* It appears that Saint Patrick in all his visitations through 
Treland, never blessed Iveragh with his presence, his nearest 
approach being to a bridge east of that district, not far from 
Killorglin. The Iveragh people console themselves by saying 
that the Saint, standing on the bridge, stretched forth his arms 
to them exclaiming— 


‘I bless ye to the west of me, and it is as well as if I travelled through.’ ” 


Iveragh, I should explain, is a barony in the county of 
Kerry, situate immediately to the west of Glanbehy and the 
mountain of Curragheen, and including the peninsula, or, as it 
is usually styled, the island of Rosbegh, which, as Mr. Andrews 
states, “‘ was formerly separated from the mainland ; but Lord 
Headley’s extensive improvements have converted marshes and 
sands, that the tide once widely covered, into rich pastures 
where hundreds of cattle now graze.” 

At the close of his lecture, Mr. Andrews said that he had 
received the utmost kindness and attention from the coastguard 
officers at Dingle and Ferriter’s Cove, as well as from the men 
of the coastguard generally in that district; and this remark 
leads me to the other pieces of information which I possess, 
and for which I am indebted to one of the last mentioned 
officers, Mr. Ross Townsend, now residing at Balbriggan. 

Soon after I had received the information conveyed in the 
old copy of Sawnders’s News-Letter, I happened (craftily) to 
ask a distinguished Irishman, “ Are there any toads in Ireland?” 


* Tam told by Mr. Andrews that the natterjacks astonished these strangers 
not only by their whirring noise, but also by actually entering the ground-floors 
of the cottages, and climbing over the furniture. 


The Natterjack Toad in Ireland. 231 


“Oh! surely not,” he answered, but on reflection added, “ by 
the bye, there must be, for I have seen a whole boat’s crew 
of them.” He directed me to a place where I might hear of 
them, and after some inquiries I made them out in Dublin at 
No. 20, Molesworth Street. 

What a sight, to be sure, with the subject of the natterjack 
toad in my thoughts! There I saw no less than forty-five of 
these creatures, cleverly stuffed, mounted in a case containing 
a well modelled sea, with boats and background; the toads 
being employed as the dramatis persone in a species of marine 
entertainment or regatta. I confess to having felt a qualm 
of sorrow at first seeing them, similar to that with which the 
“Wurtemburg animals” inspired me in 1851, and especially 
the comic frogs, which seemed to me to quote Hsop, and say, 
** Tt is sport to you, but it is death to us,”’ while I felt inclined 
to answer, “It is not sport to me; I like you better alive and 
well;” but this feeling got over, how interesting to observe the 
peculiar ‘ mesial stripe” of the natterjack, displayed on every: 
broad back; and how forcibly the abundance in which these 
creatures are found is set forth by the numbers here congregated, 
varying from about half-an-inch in breadth to dimensions sur- 
passing those of a full-grown frog. The group belongs to Sir 
James Dombrain, and the toads, as I afterwards ascertained, 
were prepared by Mr. Ross Townsend, who rightly judged that 
this mode of presenting them to view was likely to attract 
notice to the fact of their occurrence in Ireland. 

One of my friends kindly wrote to him, at my request, for 
some information ; this he gave fully in reply, and I shall pre- 
sently transcribe it from his letters. JI have prepared the little 
map (see coloured plate) especially to illustrate Mr. Townsend’s 
remarks. It is taken from the “General Map of Ireland [scale 
four miles to an inch] to accompany the report of the Railway 
Commissioners, showing the principal physical features and 
geological structure of the country.” These particulars, even 
to the depth of the water in and near Castlemaine harbour, 
I have copied with a view of presenting as much as possible 
to the eye. 

“You will perceive,” writes Mr. Townsend,” that the har- 
bour [of Castlemaine] is formed inside the bar by Rosbegh 
Point on the south side, and by Inch Point on the north. In 
the circle of this harbour, from Inch Point on the north, round 
to Rosbegh Point on the south, passing Lack, Castlemaine, 
Milltown, Killorglin and Cromane, in all these places toads 
are to be found in great abundance. The soil is generally of 
a light turf mould, or sand marsh ; in both of these they 
delight to keep, as the soil is easily penetrated, and they can 
get covering for themselves in the winter.” Mr. Townsend goes 


232 The Natterjack Toad in Ireland, 


on to say, that Mr, Andrews in his ramble in Kerry had spent 
some time with him at Lack and Killorglin. “In one of our 
excursions,” he continues, “ on a salt marsh on Rosbegh Point, 
we found the first toad [the place marked by a red dot on my 
map ]|—at least the first which was known to be such in that. 
part of the country. Mr. Andrews told me that the late Mr. 
Thompson of Belfast, who was a naturalist of great research, 
had mentioned the existence of toads in Kerry as far back as 
1805 ; but the best informed of the people of Kerry at the 
time I speak of—1841*—did not know of their existence, as 
the country people called them ‘ Black frogs.’ 

“The species I am now describing is the natterjack toad ; 
you will see its specific character, as: known in England, de. 
scribed fully in Bell’s History of British Reptiles, published in 
1849; but Mr. Bell was not then aware of this species being 
found in Ireland. The natterjack toad is never found in 
those localities I have mentioned more than a quarter of a mile 
from the sea-shore; but all round the harbour of Castlemaine, 
which you may see is of considerable extent, they are exceed- 
ingly numerous, and from the month of April until September 
they could be gathered in dozens, as they go forth creeping, or 
rather running from one locality to another ; they make a whir- 
ring noise during the evening and night, when some thousands 
of throats are employed at once, and which I have heard on a calm 
night more than two miles at sea.’”’? Mr, Townsend adds, that on 
one occasion he removed a few dozens of them to a coastguard 
station, north-east of Dingle, that is to say, some miles west of 
Inch Point, and though he remained there twelve months, he 
never could trace one of them, although the soil he selected for 
them was exactly like that from which he took them. 

The simultaneous disappearance and power of conceal- 
ment exemplified by these toads, correspond closely with 
some anecdotes given by Mr. Couch in the INTELLECTUAL 
Osserver for September, 1863 ; and their aptitude for escaping, 
which Mr. Couch narrates, was proved, I much regret to say, 
by the little natterjack whose hkeness heads this article. It 
buried itself in November in a mixture of sand and peat (or as 
we say, turf-mould) which I had carefully prepared for it in a 
wooden box, over which the hand-frame was placed, the corners 
of the box being, as I thought, securely stuffed with moss, 
wedged down with pieces of slate. Nevertheless it escaped ; 
for when its non-appearance in spring caused me to make a 
regular search for it, first in the box, and then in the whole 
room, I had the vexation of finding it dead and dried to a 
mummy in a distant corner. 


* 1840 in Mr. Townsend's letter ; but the newspaper appears to fix the date 
im the following year. 


Photographic Processes. 233 


The desire for escaping appears to be a constant habitude 
of the natterjack, and its powers both of burrowing and 
climbing cause it to rival Baron Trenck im the success of its 
endeavours. Mr. Andrews kept some specimens for years in 
his garden at Rathmines, near Dublin, and has observed that 
nothing but high walls, with deeply laid foundations, will avail 
to secure them. Three or four natterjacks will assist three or 
four more to climb by generously allowing their shoulders to 
be used as ladders: these creatures piling themselves one on 
another, like Chinese tumblers, and actively holding on to the 
smallest inequalities of the wall. 

Mr. Townsend concludes his letter by repeating the legen- 
dary story of St. Patrick, which he gives to nearly the same effect 
as Mr. Andrews did, adding, however, that the persons who 
told it to him had no idea that toads inhabited their neigh- 
bourhood. But, surely, we need not complain of the excep- 
tions which present themselves to the non-existence of reptiles 
in this Green Isle. If the word of promise in this matter be | 
broken to the ear, surely it is fulfilled to the hope ; we have 
no colony of snakes, no lurking adders, although we now and 
then meet with the sand lizard ; are plentifully supplied with 
the frog and smooth-newt, and possess in Kerry—and pos- 
sibly elsewhere in Ireland—an isolated party of the harmless 
Narrersack Toap. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES.* 
BY J. W. M'GAULEY. 


Ir is not our purpose to enter into the minor details of photo- 
graphy ; we shall content ourselves with noticing the character- 
istic features of the various processes, remarking, once for 
all, that each of them may be modified in a great variety of 
ways. 

The Dagquerreotype Process. A silver plate of the required 
size, having been most carefully cleaned, is iodized, or bromo- 
iodized, by the exposure of its silvered surface to the vapour 
of iodine, or of iodine and bromine; it thus acquires a golden 
colour. Having been then placed in the camera and exposed 
to light for a length of time, varying with the state of the 
atmosphere, it is submitted to the action of the vapour of 
mercury, which brings out a picture that was before invisible. 
The silver salts which have not been decomposed by the action 


* This is the ‘second article of a series. The first, on The History of 
Photography, appeared in No. 27, April, 1864. The third and concluding 
paper will be given at an early date, 


234 Photographic Processes. 


of light in the camera, are then removed by a strong solution 
of common salt, or a weak solution of hyposulphite of soda, 
which takes away the golden tint; and finally, the plate is 
washed with hot distilled water. If the exposure in the 
camera is allowed to exceed a certain limit, the mercurial 
vapour will bring out a negative, instead of a positive picture ; 
since a certain amount of actinic action gives to the iodide, etc., 
of silver a power of condensing the mercury, while a greater 
amount takes that power away. 

Process with Paper. A very simple process consists in 
soaking paper of a suitable texture in a solution of common 
salt, drying it in blotting-paper, and then brushing it with a 
solution of nitrate of silver. If the paper is required to be 
very sensitive, iodide of potassium is substituted for the coms — 
mon salt; and if extremely sensitive, bromide of potassium is 
used instead of either. The relative amounts of the salts 
employed is of great importance. After exposure in the 
camera, the picture is fixed with hyposulphite of soda. 

The Calotype. The paper is washed with nitrate of silver, 
and then dipped in a solution of iodide of potassium: in this 
state it is unaffected by light, but it is rendered highly sensi- 
tive by washing with a solution of nitrate of silver, to which 
acetic acid and gallic acid have been added. When removed 
from the camera, the picture will gradually develop itself in 
the dark ; but it is brought out at once, by gallo-nitrate of sil- 
ver and heating at the fire. It is fixed with hyposulphite. 
Pictures obtained by this and similar processes are negative ; 
positives are “ printed” from them, by placing them in contact 
with sensitized papers, in a glass frame, and transmitting light 
through them, for a sufficient time. 

Albumenized Paper. Paper which has been carefully coated 
with albumen on one side, and dried, is washed on the albu- 
menized surface with nitrate of silver. After exposure in the 
camera, it is fixed in the usual way. 

It has been found that the coating of albumen, containing 
the picture, may be removed from the paper, by steeping for a 
few moments in concentrated sulphuric acid, or in a concentrated 
solution of chloride of zinc, and washing carefully with water. 
The albumen then resembles an animal membrane, and may be 
placed on any other surface. ) 

The natural tone of a picture on paper is very disagreeable : 
this is corrected by the toning bath, which consists almost es- 
sentially of chloride of gold, mixed with one or more other 
salts. Chloride of gold and bicarbonate of soda constitute the 
mixture very commonly employed. The toning bath should 
deepen the tint to a blue, a violet, or even a black, and it may 
be used either before or after fixing. The dearness of gold 


Photographic Processes. 235 


has caused many attempts to substitute other substances for it: 
of those which have been tried, chloride of platina with acetate 
of soda gives the best results—it is nearly as effective as 
chloride of gold. 

Albumenized Glass. A combination of several processes has 
been found most successful with aloumen on glass. The albu- 
menized plate is washed with a weak solution of nitrate of sil- 
ver to which alcohol has been added, then with a mixture of 
protoiodide of iron, and afterwards with a strong solution con- 
taining nitrate of silver and acetic acid. After exposure, it is 
developed with protosulphate of iron, and fixed in the ordinary 
way. Albumenized glass, usually very slow, is by this method 
rendered extremely sensitive. 

Waaed Paper. Suitable paper is carefully saturated with 
liquid wax, the excess of which is removed by blotting paper, 
and a moderately hot smoothing-iron. It is then immersed, 
for a considerable time, in a solution contaming iodide and 
bromide of potassium, after which it is dried. When required 
to be used, it is sensitized with nitrate of silver and acetic acid: 
it is developed with a mixture containing gallic acid and nitrate 
of silver, and fixed with hyposulphite. 

Moist Collodion Process. Common gun cotton is almost en- 
tirely dissolved by a mixture consisting of about nine parts 
ether and one alcohol: the solution is Collodion. Alcoléne is 
a collodion containing no ether. It is obtained by dissolving a 
gun cotton which has been prepared with 100 parts by weight of 
concentrated sulphuric acid and 90 parts nitric acid, density 
1:4 in alcohol, spec. grav. 0°808, and diluting the result, a 
thick gummy mass, with absolute alcohol, having an iodide in 
solution. If weaker acids are employed ether will be required 
for solution of the gun cotton. The best iodide for preparing 
a quick and stable collodion is that of cadmium; almost all others 
colour the collodion, and therefore diminish its sensibility. 

A perfectly clean glass plate having been coated with the 
iodized collodion, which is allowed to solidify, but not to be- 
come dry, it is immersed in a solution of nitrate of silver, and 
then placed in the camera. The picture is developed with a 
mixture of pyrogallic and acetic acids, diluted with water, and 
is fixed in the usual way. 

Protosulphate of iron may be used in the developing mix- 
ture, or—which is very much better—double sulphate of iron 
and ammonia, instead of pyrogallic acid ; if formic acid is sub- 
‘ stituted for the acetic, the rapidity is augmented, and the pic- 
ture is rendered more intense. Very good results are obtained 
if the picture is developed with protosulphate of iron, and in- 
tensified with pyrogallic acid and nitrate of silver, before the 
fixing or, if there is a tendency to fogging, after it, 


236 Photographic Processes. 


Collodion negatives may be obtained with less than half 
the ordinary time of exposure by plunging the plate, after it 
has been sensitized with the nitrate of silver, into a concen- 
trated solution of acetate of silver, and developing with pyro-. 
gallic acid. | . 

If, after developing a collodion negative as much as possible 
by the ordinary method, a solution of sulphuret of potassium 
and a solution of protosulphate of iron are poured alternately 
upon it, water being used abundantly in washing it after each 
solution is employed, it will become so opaque as to be abso- 
lutely black and white. 

Collodion proofs may be developed positive, by means of 
an alcoholized solution of sulphate of iron containing acetic 
acid and nitrate of potash, which makes the lights of a dead’ 
white ; or with an alcoholized solution containing less iron and 
acetic acid, but nitrates both of silver and potash and nitric 
acid, which gives the lights a brilliant metallic appearance, 
The free acid in each mixture tends ina special manner to 
preserve the shadows. Without the alcohol the mixture would 
not run freely over the plate. Cyanide of potassium is used 
for fixing. The presence of a small quantity of copper in the 
sensitizing bath used with the paper for positives, causes it to 
afford vigorous and effective pictures from feeble negatives, 
but does not answer so well with good negatives. As, however, 
it renders the process tedious, it 1s objectionable to the profes- 
sional photographer. If, after developing, the plate is drained, 
and coated with glycerine, it may be left for some days without 
being finished. The glycerine prevents the oxidation of the 
iron, and increases the adhesion of the collodion to the glass ; 
it has the property of continuing moist, and is easily removed 
with water. 

Dry Collodion Process. The glass plate having been coated. 
with collodion, sensitized with nitrate of silver, and well 
washed, it is brushed over with a bromo-iodated solution of 
albumen, which preserves it from the decomposing action of 
light, so that it may be kept for two years or more. It must 
be sensitized anew at least one or two days before being used. 
Dry collodion requires four times as long an exposure in the 
camera as moist. 

A preparation of malt, of malt and tannin, or of tannin 
and glycerine, has been used with great success instead of 
the albumen. Also ammonia has been employed with excellent, 
effect in the development of dry collodion negatives; the time 
required, both for exposure and development, being greatly 
shortened. Ammonia, for some unknown reason, has no effect, 
occasionally : the development is effected in such cases with 
caustic potash, «© © °° pdntr 5 


Photographic Processes. 237 


_- Photography, with Textile, etc., Fabrics. Having been 
brushed over with a moderately thick mixture of Spanish white 
and alcohol, they are allowed to dry, after which they are care- 
fully polished with cotton. Thus prepared, they may be 
treated like positive paper, and will give as good pictures. 

Carbon Process. This has for its object a replacing of the 
salts of silver by carbon in an impalpable powder, which is 
Imprisoned in a sensitive coating. It is founded on the fact 
that the persalts of iron communicate to organic matter, such 
as albumen, gelatine, or gum, an insolubility which ceases, un- 
der the influence of light, in presence of tartaric acid. The 
latter, in reducing the ferric compound, restores the natural 
solubility of the organic substance, and allows both it and the 
impalpable powder with which it has been combined to be 
washed away, in proportion to the action of the light, so as to 
reproduce on paper which has been coated with the mixture, 
all the varieties of light and shade. Gelatine has been found 
to answer best for the process. If only the under surface of 
the coating is rendered soluble, the parts containing the middle 
shades will be carried off in the washing, as well as those cor- 
responding to the bright lights; this is prevented, either by 
causing the light to strike the outer surface first, or by modify- 
ing the details of the process. The means of attaining these 
objects have been well treated, in a paper read before the Pho- 
tographic Society of Scotland, in December last, by Mr. Blair, 
of Perth. The fixation of the’ picture is effected by removing 
the ferruginous compound with acidulated water; and it is 
rendered still more permanent by means of alum or corrosive 
sublimate. The process has not yet produced results at all 
comparable to those obtained with the salts of silver. 

The Chrysotype. Paper is washed with a solution of ammo- 
nia-citrate of iron, and dried. After exposure in the camera, 
the faint image then perceived is brought out strongly by wash- 
ing with a neutral solution of gold, andis fixed by means of 
water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and subsequent treatment 
with bromide, or, which is better, iodide of potassium. 

The Awrotype. Paper is washed with protocyanide of po- 
tassium and gold, then dried. It will now darken very rapidly 
when acted on by light, and the blackening continues in the 
dark. Several combinations of gold and cyanogen may be used. 

‘The Platinotype. If a ferrocyanide of potassium and _pla- 
tina is formed, by mixing a boiling solution of chloride of 
platina, which is as neutral as possible, with a saturated solu- 
tion of cyanide of potassium, and paper is washed with it, 
long continued exposure in a camera, during sunshine, will 
cause a faint impression to be produced; and washing with a 
solution of proto-nitrate of mercury changes this into a‘ delicate 


238 Photographic Processes. 


picture. But, whatever may be the details of the process em- 
ployed, a platinotype slowly vanishes, even in the dark— 
though, in some cases, it gradually reappears. 

The Catylissotype. Paper is brushed over with a mixture 


consisting of syrup of iodide of iron and tincture of iodine, - 


and, when dried with blotting paper, is washed with nitrate 
of silver. After exposure, nothing is perceptible; but a pic- 
ture gradually developes in the dark. The name of the process 
is due to the supposition that, when the silver salt has been 
slightly affected by the light, a catalytic action sets in, and ex- 
tends itself to the salts of iron. 

Finlarging of Images. The megascope, invented in 1780, 
is used to produce large from small proofs; thus, to obtain from 
a microscopic negative on glass, a portrait of the natural size. 
It never gives an agreeable picture, but skilful retouching may 
diminish its imperfections. The solar microscope answers well for 
the same purpose ; the negative being placed in the focus of the 
objective, and the sensitized paper on a screen in a darkened 
room. The electric light may be used, but solar is preferable. 

Heligraphy. This is understood to comprise the effects pro- 
duced by light on non-metallic substances; but is applied es- 
pecially to a development of the discoveries of Nicephorus 
Niepce, which has become very important, since it affords a 
means of obtaining impressions from metallic plates and litho- 
graphic stones. Niepce used asphaltum, but Daguerre re- 
marked that all bituminous resins and the residues of essential 
oils are decomposed by sunshine. Vegetable juices, also, are 
sensibly affected by it. In the process employed by M.M. 
Lemaitre and Niepce de Saint Victor, a carefully cleaned plate 
of polished steel is coated with a solution of bitumen of Judea 
in essence of lavender, and dried by heat. A transparent posi- 
tive is then placed over it, and after the bitumen, which has 
been rendered soluble by sufficient exposure to light, has been 
dissolved off by a mixture of rectified oil of naphtha and ben- 
zine, it is washed and dried. The plate is next acted on by 
nitric acid diluted with water and mixed with alcohol, and, 
having been again washed and dried, it is covered with finely 
powdered resin, and heated. This hardens the bitumen, and 
in the shadows forms granulations which give good impressions 
with ink. . 

If a picture is obtained with bitumen, by the method of 
Niepce, and the plate is then placed in an electrotype apparatus, 
copper will be deposited upon it, on connecting it with the 
negative pole; but it will be corroded in the lights, on con- 
necting it with the positive. A plate may, therefore, be obtained 
which will give impressions like an engraved copper-plate, or 
like an engraving on wood. . 


. 


Photographic Processes. 239 


Photolithography. The stone is covered with a varnish 
consisting of bichromate of ammonia, water, and albumen, and 
when dry is exposed to light, under the engraving, etc., which 
is to be copied. Nothing is visible until the surface of the 
stone is washed with Marseilles soap, which removes the solu- 
ble portions—those where no insoluble oxide of chrome has been 
formed, and which, being allowed to act for a sufficient time, 
slightly hollows the stone wherever its surface has been laid bare. 
Ifit is then wetted and inked, as for lithography, the ink enters 
the hollows, but itis repelled from the parts in relief, which 
are to form the lights. The engraving, etc., is not reproduced 
im reverse, nor is it injured by the process of preparation. 

Barreswil’s method consists in covermg the stone with a 
solution of bitumen of Judea in ether, which forms, not a var- 
nish, but a granulation. A negative is laid on this; and the 
portions of the bitumen rendered soluble by exposure are washed 
off in the usual way. Impressions may then be taken from 
the stone; and, for some time, each is better than the preced- 
ing one. 

Zinco-photography. Paper is prepared with bichromate o 
potash and gelatine, and, after having been exposed under a 
negative, is covered uniformly all over with ordinary. litho- 
graphic ink; it is then washed with gum water, which removes 
the unaltered gelatine, and leaves a well-inked positive picture. 
This is transferred to a properly grained zinc plate, by pres- 
sure ; after which the process is that ordinarily used with zinc. 

Photographic Engraving. Dilute nitric acid dissolves the 
silver from a Daguerreotype, without acting on the portions 
covered with mercury. In this way may be obtained a plate 
which will afford a few tolerable impressions. A great im- 
provement is effected by rubbing grease into the cavities formed 
by the acid, gilding the prominent parts by the electrotype 
process, and then deepening the hollows with acid. The plate 
must then be finished with the burine, which of course injures 
its truth as a photographic product. 

Photography in Relief. A sheet of gutta-percha is coated 
with a mixture of gum arabic and bichromate of potash, and 
when dry is exposed in the camera. The parts of the gum 
which have thus been rendered soluble are then washed away 
with water; after which the sheet is dried. It is next held 
horizontally, the gummed side being under, and, the corners 
being pinched up so as to form a kind of rectangular trough, 
hot water is poured upon it. This causes the gutta-percha to 
become prominent wherever the gum has been removed; and 
thus the lights appear in a relief, which is unfortunately too 
great. 

General Coloration of Photographs. Besides the care usually 


240 Photographic Processes. 


bestowed on toning, the uniform tintmg of photographs: has 
received considerable attention, as a means of improving their 
appearance. This is brought about in various ways. If, before 
exposure, a paper positive is placed for a short time in a solu- 
tion of uranium, then, on being taken out of the camera, is 
washed for afew seconds in water at atemperature of from 
122° to 140° Fahr., and, immediately afterwards, is plunged into 
a solution of red prussiate of potash, it will soon acquire a 
fine red colour. Being now dipped in a solution of nitrate of 
cobalt, and dried at the fire, it will become green; and this 
colour is fixed by immersing in a solution contaiming sulphate 
of iron and sulphuric acid, washing with water, and drying at 
the fire. If a solution of prussiate of potash is used instead 
of that of uranium, and a solution of bichloride of mercury, 
saturated in the cold, after the paper has been taken from the 
camera, followed by a solution of oxalic acid heated to from 
about 122° to 140° Fahr., the colour will be a beautiful blue. 
Heliochromy. Among the various processes used by Niepce 
de Saint Victor for the reproduction of colours, the following 
were found to be the most effective :— A plate, like that used 
for the Daguerreotype, is immersed for ten minutes in a solu- 
tion of chloride of copper, or of iron, saturated to a degree suited 
to the reproduction of the mean colours of the spectrum, and 
then gently heated with a spirit-lamp ; if light which has passed 
through a transparent coloured picture is now thrown upon it, 
the various tints will be produced, but will vanish immediately. 
If, however, the bath employed consists of half proto dr sesqui- 
chloride of iron and half sulphate of copper, the colours of 
objects are reproduced with great vividness, with the excep- 
tion of yellow; and even this is obtained by using a bath of 
hypochlorite of soda, containing some alcohol and raised to a 
temperature between 158° and 176° Fahr., stirring the plate 
about in the mixture, until it is nearly black, then washing 
with water, and drying with the flame of a spirit-lamp. Before 
exposure, and while still lukewarm, the plate is coated with a 
varnish which consists of dextrine and chloride of lead, and 
dried by heat. This varnish causes the colours to appear with 
great brilliancy, and brightens the white ground, on account of 
the chloride of silver being bleached by the chloride of lead. 
When a bath consisting of dentochloride of iron and sulphate 
of copper has been used, fused chloride of lead prepared 
directly from the metal must be employed; but, when a bath 
consisting of hypochlorite of soda, wnfused chloride of lead, 
that it may neutralize the action of the alkaline solution, and 
tincture of benjamin of Siam is to be added to the varnish. 


After the picture has been obtained, the plate is to be heated, 


gradually, to the highest point short of carbonizing the organic 


A Cheap Observatory. 241 


matter. This, if the whole thickness of the sensitive coating 
has been acted on by the light, intensifies the colours, other- 
wise it changes the blues to violet, and the black to red. It 
renders the tint so permanent that, when the iron and copper 
bath has been used, they are not destroyed by less than ten or 
twelve hours’ exposure to diffused light; and when the soda 
bath, not by less than three or four days’ exposure to the 
bright light of summer. The colours, in these processes, 
make their appearance one after another. Those of natural 
objects, on account of the white light always mixed with 
coloured rays, are more or less vitiated ; and when the hues of 
the spectrum are reproduced, a disagreeable violet shade is 
found to pervade them all. The binary colours, or those 
formed by a union of two, are decomposed by heliochromy ; 
hence the green of the emerald will be reproduced by it; but 
the green formed by a mixture of chrome yellow and Prussian 
blue, will afford only blue. It has been asserted that the 
colours may be completely fixed by alloxan; but this requires 
confirmation. . 

Encaustic Photography. A thin glass plate is coated, in the 
dark, with a mixture consisting of bichromate of potash, honey, 
white of egg, and water, and dried ina gas stove. It is next 
placed under a positive, in a copying frame, which produces 
upon it a weak negative. Pulverized enamel is then rubbed 
on with a soft brush, until a good positive is produced, which 
is fixed with alcohol, to which a little acetic or nitric acid has 
been added ; when the alcohol has evaporated from its surface, 
itis put horizontally into a dish containing water, and left 
there until the chromate is dissolved out. The picture in 
enamel remains, and, having been properly dried, is put into 
the furnace. 


A CHEAP OBSERVATORY. 
BY FREDERICK BIRD. 


Tur writer of this article was for several years of the 
number of those observers who ply their starry occupation for 
the most part in the open air, and can well sympathize with his 
brethren under the many difficulties with which their pursuit 
of knowledge has to be carried on. He commenced his career 
by casting a metallic speculum, and fabricating a telescope 
with his own hands. His out-door station was at a wooden 
turn-table, having around it a circular bricked pavement, and 
many were the delightful hours there spent in hunting up 
nebula and the double stars. 


242 A Cheap Observatory. 


Out-door observation has, no doubt, its advantages. 
Telescopes are generally understood to work best when the 
object-glass or speculum has attained the temperature of the 
surrounding air. And certainly those who wish to familiarize 
themselves’ with the constellations, and the names and 
peculiarities of their leaders, as the more prominent stars 
are called, will get on much better in the open air, with the 
whole heavens before them, than when looking through the 
narrow opening of an observatory. 

But when the higher purpose of close telescopic scrutiny 
is the intention, then the shelter and many conveniencies of 
the observatory are indispensable. 

So immensely remote are even the nearest of the heavenly 
bodies that forthe most part weknowlittle ornothing of thenature 


of their surfaces. The pencillings on their discs of lines, streaks, ’ 


or spots, arising from clouds, oceans, mountain chains, or other 
unknown peculiarities of their structure, are by the mere effect 
of distance reduced to the utmost delicacy, and require not 
only the best optical means to reveal them, but also that the 
observer himself should be placed in an easy posture, and be 
perfectly free from bodily inconvenience. 

The most interesting part of an amateur astronomer’s work 
consists in observing such details, or in picking up minute 
objects amongst the fixed stars, measuring the interval 
separating double stars, determining as nearly as may be 
angles of position, and watching for variation—one of the most 
useful matters to which an amateur can devote his attention— 
occasional sketches of lunar craters under different degrees 
of illumination, solar spots, as the great orb rotates and brings 
them into view; noting the occultations of stars by the moon, 
with a view to decide the question, yet unsettled, of a lunar 
atmosphere ; and many other niceties of observation which not 
only invest his labours with interest, but impart to them a real 
value. ‘T'o do any of these things, however, effectively in the 
open air, with one’s telescope agitated by the passing wind, and 
a body shivering with the cold, is clearly next to impossible. 

This remark then leads to the main object of the present 
article, namely, to describe a ‘cheap observatory,” which 
the writer has recently erected for himself, and to show that at 
a very moderate outlay an amateur, who has the convenience 
on his premises for the erection of such a building, need not to 
remain destitute of it. 

He was led to the erection of an observatory chiefly to afford 
greater protection to a fine silvered glass speculum, of twelve 
inches aperture, some account of which appeared in a former 
number of the InrztLecruaL Ossmrvur. Since then he has com- 
pleted a much finer one, of a similar aperture, having a focal 


ee 


eS eee eee 


A Cheap Observatory. | 243 


length of nine feet, fixed in an iron tube, and mounted on a 
fine mahogany stand by the late Charles Tulley. 

The observatory is erected on the summit of a sand rock, 
about sixty feet above the surrounding surface, and within 
eighty yards of the Great Western Railway. The weight 
of the rock is fortunately sufficient to absorb all tremors from 
the passing trains, from which when below there was a con- 
stant annoyance, tremors being often perceptible after the 
train had passed out of hearing. 

The aspect of the observatory is nearly all that could be 
desired, being completely open except in the extreme north, 
and even there a view of all objects 8 deg. below the pole can be 
obtained. The exterior of the building with the front shutter 
taken down is represented by the following sketch. 


Aull) 
al 


7 ill 


It consists in the first place of a circular bricked building 
carried up exactly five feet high, with a low entrance door-way 
sufficiently wide to admit the telescope stand. And as economy 
in the materials and every part of the erection required to be 
strictly observed, the bricks of which the building is composed 
were old ones that had done duty for several years before, on 
the same spot, in the shape of a summer arbour. ‘They were 
pulled down, cleaned, and reset, and being for the most part 

VOL. V.—NO. IV. 8 


244, A Cheap Observatory. 


broken and fragmentary, were all the more suitable for turning © 
the sharp curve. The walls are nine inches thick throughout, 
and the interior diameter of the enclosed space nine feet. Two 
courses from the top, and at equal intervals, are inserted six 
slabs of stone, to which are securely bolted the cast-iron chairs — 
carrying the flanged wheels, on which the roof was intended 
to revolve. The wheel and its axle, and the chair, were cast in 
separate pieces, and required, therefore, only two very simple 
patterns. The wheels required turning in a lathe to render 
them true, but the chairs were trimmed up and finished with 
a file, and the whole when completed cost exactly 22s. In 
setting the wheels great care was bestowed to range them 
accurately in a circle, and to ensure this each one as set was 
tested by a wooden radius working on a firm support at the 
centre. They were also accurately levelled, the one from the 
other, and when finished, the upper bearing edge stood half an 
inch above the level of the final ring of brickwork. 

The diameter of that part of the wheel which carries the 
weight is four inches. The flange extends beyond this three- 
quarters of an inch more, and the surface of the bearing part 
is one inch wide, which allows for slight irregularity in the iron 
circle. It might also be mentioned that in order to do away 
with friction, the flange is not perpendicular to the bearing 
surface, but reclines away from it, hence the edge of the iron 
ring comes in contact with the flange only at its base. The 
wheels may appear rather small, but they are found to answer 
most perfectly, and the roof moves with freedom. Out of the 
six wheels it rarely happens that 
more than three take a bearing at 
one time, but when one leaves off 
another begins. 

A sketch of their appearance 
when in situ before the roof was 
put on is here given. We next 
come to the wooden part of the 
building, namely the roof. Here 
again economy interposed and for- — 
bad all the woodwork being planed, 
so it was used up simply as it came 
from the saw. 

The framework of the roof is 
made up of two circles, four verti- 
cal standards, and two cross beams. ‘The circles are both 
of elm, and were cut in segments from boards one-and-a-half — 
inches ‘thick, they were placed end to end on a level floor and — 
united by other segments only an inch thick, these were laid 
across the joints, and all firmly united by screws. ” 


y =e \ [ 


A Cheap Observatory. 245 


The larger circle is ten feet and the smaller eight feet in 
diameter. The latter was mounted over the former on the four 
uprights, and the cross beams laid in their places and well 
secured. 

The sides were then covered in with light deal boards, 
the edges of which being ploughed and tongued the joints 
were rendered quite close and perfect, at the same time they 
were securely nailed to the elm circles above and below. 

For the greater comfort of bemg well inside the building 
when observing, instead of the front shutter being formed on 
the sloping surface, it was thought better to carry the cross 
beams, on one side, some distance beyond the edge of the roof, 
to be met by uprights standing vertically on the lower elm 
circle, the intervening surface being boarded up and forming 
a kind of porch. A window also was inserted on the right- 
hand side of the porch, for the convenience of light in the day 
time. The top surface of the roof and sliding shutter were 
boarded over, and then covered with zinc, which was also 
carried a few inches down the sides, rendering all perfectly 
watertight. The slidmg shutter referred to moves on rollers 
between two strips of timber laid across the top of the build- 
ing under the zinc, and is opened or closed by means of a 
continuous cord, the ends of which are attached to the opposite 
ends of the shutter and pass over appropriate pulleys, so that it 
can be completely controlled without the necessity of going up 
to it. The upright shutter is removed entirely when a front 
view is required. 

It now merely remains to state that a facility for motion 
was given to the roof by attaching an iron ring to the lower 
elm circle. It was formed out of pieces of flat bar iron two 
inches wide and about four feet long each, holes were drilled 
through and counter sunk, and the bearing edge made straight, 
the bars were then heated and bent to the required curve, they 
were put on end to end, but not quite in contact, in order to 
leave room for expansion, and very firmly screwed to the 
circle. The roof was then lowered down, and when the 
iron edging rested on the wheels, the whole fabric was 
put in motion with a very slight effort. The movement 
was rendered still easier by several convenient pushing handles 
afterwards inserted, and a good supply of grease to ease the 
friction. A few minor details remained to complete the 
structure, such as painting inside and out, a bricked floor laid 
upon a thick bed of ashes, a convenient shelf a foot wide 
carried completely round the building above the large elm 
circle, from which depended a valance of oil baize intended to 
hide the wheels and also to check the draft. The building has 
now been in use for several months, and nobly stood the ordeal 


246 Oycads. 


of the great wind storm which swept over the country not long 
since, the only mishap being a flight of the top shutter which 
was left unfastened. 

The comfort and convenience of the building has been found 
very great, and the performance of the specula immeasurably 
superior to what it ever was when they were used in the open 
air. They are left permanently in the tube shut up with tin 
covers, fitting closely to the cells in which they are mounted, 


and further protected from damp by a bag of sawdust which : 


has been steeped in a saturated solution of the chloride of cal- 
cium and afterwards baked thoroughly dry. Thus protected 
their surfaces retain all thei original splendour, and are 
reflective in the highest possible degree. On reckoning up the 
entire cost of materials and workmanship, it was found not to 
exceed the very moderate sum of £14. 

Should any observer of the heavens, reading this account of 
a cheap observatory, be resolved to get under the shelter of a 
revolving roof, it would afford the writer pleasure to aid him 
by any explanations and suggestions not already mentioned in 
the foregoing article. 


GENERAL CEMETERY, BirMIncHAM. 


CYCADS. 


BY JOHN R. JACKSON, 
Curator of the Kew Museum. 
(With a Tinted Plate.) 


THERE is something strange and peculiar about the cycads— 
something wierd and pre-Adamitish about their very appearance 
—which fixes our attention, even at the first glance, and the more 
closely we examine into the history of these plants the more 
weep on does it become. In the whole range of the vege- 
table productions of our globe it would be difficult to select a 
group of plants to which more of interest is attached. There 
are not very many of them, perhaps not more than 70 or 80 
species, at present existing. Their geographical range is some- 
what extended, for we find them in Africa, in America, the 
West Indian Islands, and in Australia ; they are the scattered 
remnants, the living representatives of a bygone flora, ‘They 
form a little family circle, completely isolated from the remainder 
of the vegetable world. ‘They have no close ties of relationship 
connecting them with any other group of plants, although pos- 
sessing external resemblances to several, So peculiar and 


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CYCADS. 
Fig. A. Encephalartus Caffer, Lehm. 
Fig. B. Male cone of Stangeria paradoxa, Moore. With seed and leaflet 
natural size, showing venation. 
Fig. C. Memale cone of Macrozamia spiralis, 
Fig. D. Bowenia spectabilis. look. 1. General appearance of plant. 2, Form of leaves. 
3, Male cone half natural size. 


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Cycads. 247 


well marked are the characters by which they are known, that 
having once become acquainted with them, the family likeness 
is at once recognized. 

Ii is very strange that so remarkable a family, and one 
whose history is fraught with so much of interest, we might 
‘almost say of romance, has never yet found a biographer; no 
one has taken the subject in hand, and any one wishing for 
information concerning the cycads must seek for it in brief 
notes and passing allusions in a hundred different works. No 
man has undertaken the duty of introducing this family to the 
British public. That pleasant task has fallen into our hands, 
and we believe that the readers of the InrerzectuaL OBSERVER 
will find something to interest them in the subject of our paper, 
if not in the manner in which it is treated. 

In their cylindrical, undivided stems, surmounted by a 
crown of foliage, the cycads resemble palms. A good idea of 
the general habit of the family is shown in Fig. 1, which is a 
sketch of Encephalartos Caffer, Lehm., from a fine specimen 
growing in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. It will be seen 
that the stem is undivided, growing only at the apex, and that 
the lower parts are marked with the scars of the old leaves. 
In exceptional cases the stems are divided dichotomously. In 
this again cycads resemble palms, for there are one or two 
examples of forking stems even among the palms, as Hyphcene 
for example. In the germination of their seeds, too, there is a 
similarity between them; but then, again, if we look at the 
venation of the leaflets of their pinnate fronds we should be 
inclined to think there must be some relationship with ferns. 
The arrangement of the veins is precisely that found in the 
free-veined ferns, as shown in Fig. 2 ; indeed, when the fronds 
of this plant were first sent to this country, without either 
stem or fruit, they were believed to belong to that family, and 
the plant was, by Kunzé, a first-rate authority upon ferns, pub- 
lished as a species of Lomaria. 

The most characteristic feature of the ferns, and one which 
most persons would look upon as being a distinctive mark of 
the family, is the gyrate vernation of their fronds; that is, 
their being coiled up, like the head of a crozier, in their young 
state. But this we find is also a character observed in the 
majority of cycads. While their habit of growth resembles the 

alm, their venation and vernation is, to all appearance, fern- 
like ; but their floral organs and their fruits, which are, of 
course, the most important parts, give us the resemblance of a 
third great natural order—Oonifere, the fir-tree tribe. The 
flowers are unisexual and without floral envelopes (achlamydeous). 
In the male cones the one-celled anthers are scattered in sessile 
clusters over the lower surface of the scales, The anthers split 


248 Oycads. 


up longitudinally. The fruit is produced in cones, closely 
resembling in many cases those of various kinds of coni- 
fers (see Figs. 2 and 3). ‘The size of their cones varies much 
with the different species, in some, as those of Hncephalartos, 
they are of immense size, frequently measuring two to three feet 
in length. The hard-cased nut-like seeds are either arranged 
along the sides of altered leaves or scales as in Cycas, or at the 
base of the peltate scales, as in Hncephalartos. The seeds of 
Oyeas are as large as a walnut, while those of Stangeria paradowa 
much resemble hazel-nuts. 

With such peculiar features as those above described, it is not 
to be wondered at that the early botanists were much puzzled 
as to the affinities of cycads. -Thus we find that Linnzus him- 
self was at first inclined to class them with palms; but he sub-.: 
sequently changed his opinion, and, with Adanson and some 
other authorities, gave them a place among ferns. After con- 
siderable discussion upon this difficult subject, M. Richard came 
to the conclusion that they should constitute an order by them- 
selves, under the title of Cycadec ; but he still retained them 
as near allies of the two former orders, giving them, in 
fact, a place intermediate between palms and ferns. Sub- 
sequent researches have proved that though they resemble these 
natural orders, yet they have no true affinity with them. The 
cycads are now placed in what is no doubt their true position, 
that is among Gymnogens, a class intermediate between Hn- 
dogens and Hxogens, and associated with conifers, taxads, 
(yews), and joint firs, from each of which orders, however, they 
are totally distinct. 

The cycads may claim a high antiquity, for they certainly 
existed in considerable numbers in this country during the 
Oolitic period, as their remains well preserved in the strata at 
Portland abundantly testify, and they may have existed even 
earlier. It is not at all improbable that some of the fronds 
found in the Carboniferous strata, and usually looked upon as 
ferns, are in fact cyeads. ‘The texture of the fronds was 
evidently thick and leathery ; a characteristic of the family we 
are speaking of, but much more rare among ferns. The essential 
character of the flora of the Lias period is the predominance of 
Cycadew, says Dr. Balfour ; we find in strata of that age many 
species of Cycadites, Otozamites, Zamites, Ctenis, Pterophyllum, 
Nelsonia, and other allied genera, There are few flowering 
plants which can be traced further back. Cycads formed, doubt- 
less, part of the food of that mighty reptile, the bar, 
which trod this earth when the Wealden beds were deposited. 
The family must have made an important part of the flora of 
this country at that remote period; bat with the changes of 
climate and circumstances, brought about during the great 


. Cycads. 249 


length of time which has since elapsed, the cycads have been 
driven southward, until not a single species is now found in 
Hurope. They are not alone in this respect, for palms and 
gigantic tree ferns flourished here too. Only one or two 
species of palm now exist north of the Mediterranean, and 
no example of a tree fern. The genus Banksia, which we now 
look upon as being more characteristic than perhaps any other 
of the Australian flora, was, there is reason to think, at one 
- time, a native of this country. We cannot be surprised there- 
fore to find that the cycads have all emigrated: let us see 
where we find their descendants settled in our own day. 

The geographical distribution of this family is not confined 
within such narrow bounds as was supposed a few years ago, 
many new species, and new localities for old ones, have been 
recently discovered. They are perhaps more plentiful in South 
Africa than in any other part of the world. Mr. Bunbury, 
writing in the London Journal of Botany, says that Zamias are 
among the forms of vegetation that characterize the eastern — 
parts of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, especially the 
great tract of thicket extending along the Caffir frontier. It 
was formerly supposed that they were not to be found in the 
regions of tropical Africa, but the researches of Barter upon 
the Niger, and Gustay Mann upon the west coast, prove this 
to have been a fallacy; some fine cones collected by these 
two botanists now enrich our national collection at Kew, as well 
as some specimens sent by Dr. Kirk of the Livingstone 
Expedition. Among the species most plentiful in South 
Africa are Encephalartos Oaffer, H. horridus, and EH. pungens. 
Cycads are also found in Mexico, the Hast and West 
Indies, in Madagascar, the warmer parts of Asia, and 
some of the South Sea Islands. The recent researches of Dr. 
F. Mueller of Melbourne, and Mr. W. Hill of Brisbane, have 
added much to our knowledge of the Australian forms of this 
family. One most interesting species, for the knowledge of 
which we are indebted to the latter botanist, we must mention. 
It is Bowenia spectabilis (Fig. 4), of which an admirable figure 
by Mr. W. Fitch was published in the Botanical Magazine 
(‘T. 5398). We borrow the following remarks from Sir William 
J. Hooker’s description of the plant, published in that valuable 
work :— The discoverer of this singular plant was the late 
Allan Cunningham, from whom we received, upwards of forty 
years ago, a portion of a frond, collected at the Endeavour River 
(lat. 15 deg. S.) in 1819, and referred by him provisionally to 
Aroidece (Dracontium polyphyllum M.S.) Nothing, however, 
was known further of it till Mr. Walter Hill, the zealous and 
able head of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, re-discovered it in 
Rockingham Bay, and sent a young living plant, with full- 


250. Oycads. . 


grown dried leaves, and a male cone, to the Royal Gardens, 
Kew, in 1863. From these materials the plate and description 
have been made, and, in accordance with Mr. Hill’s desire, as 
well as our own, we have attached the name of the present 
enlightened Governor of Queensland (Sir George F. Bowen, 
G.C.M.G., Captain and Governor-in-Chief) to the genus, in 
recognition no less of that officer’s position as Governor of the 
district of Australia in which the plant was found, than of his 
liberal encouragement to botany, and of Mr. Hill’s exertions in 
particular. As a genus, the most prominent character of 
Bowenia is the compound. leaf, its general characters (all but 
shape), texture, and venation ; the leaflets do not differ from 
those of Macrozamia, and are so very similar to those of some 
West Indian Zamias that it is difficult to distinguish them, 
generically, except that in Bowenia the leaflet is decurrent by 
the petiole, and not articulate with the rachis. The habits of 
growth, caudex, etc., entirely accord with that of the South 
American Zamias, as does the male amentum ; the female amen- 
tum and fruit are both at present unknown, but we trust ere 
long they will be detected and published.” 3 

Bowenia is a unique example of acycad, possessed of leaves 
which are more than once divided—the normal character is the 
pinnately divided frond, as shown in Fig 2. The plant whose 
leaf we have selected as an example is one possessed of peculiar 
interest, as we have before mentioned, on account of its great 
resemblance to the fern family inits venation. Its stem is short 
and globular, and, unlike most of the family, it is not marked 
with the scars of fallen leaves. When first introduced into 
this country, now about twelve or fourteen years ago, the plants 
from their novelty realized large sums of money—several stems 
selling for £5 or more a-piece. 

One of the finest collections of living ‘specimens of this 
family in Hurope, if not, indeed, the richest, is that at our 
National Botanic Garden at Kew. A very large number of 
species may there be seen growing in all their native luxuriance 
in the magnificent Palm House. Fig. 1 will give an idea of 
one of these, which must be of enormous age ; it is probably 
one of the oldest plants in the garden, and must have passed 
through many vicissitudes in its native land ere it was trans- 
ported to our country. ‘The lower parts of the stem are 
partially charred upon the outside, which looks as though it had 
suffered in one or more of the bush fires so common in that 
country. But it has survived all its trials, and is now in robust 
health, and will probably be so, we might almost say, for cen- 
turies to come. The garden of James Yates, Hsq., of Lauder- 
dale House, Highgate, also contains a magnificent collection 
of cycads, including many rare species. In the Botanic Garden 


Oycads. 201 


of Hamburgh, and one or two other continental gardens, there 
are likewise good collections. 

There is a great and general partiality on the Continent for 
the commoner kinds of cycads which are grown for decorative 
purposes. In many of the small nursery gardens round Dresden, 
Cycas revoluta was, a few years ago, extensively cultivated ; 
whole hothouses were devoted to numerous specimens of this 
one plant, and it would appear to be a profitable business the 
growing of these plants, for it is a very general practice for the 
mourners at a funeral to carry fronds of this plant in their 
hands when following a departed friend to the grave. The 
custom originated, it 1s said, among the Jews, but is not now 
confined to them. They are well adapted to the purpose, being 
somewhat rigid and yet gracefully curved, and as the pinne are 
numerous, narrow, and thickly crowded together, they have 
somewhat the appearance of green feathers on a large scale. 
The resemblance of the fronds of cycads to those of palms has 
led to their being substituted for them in many Roman Catholic 
countries where palm branches cannot be obtained, and they. 
are often carried in processions on Palm Sunday. In New 
South Wales the fronds of Macrozamia are generally used for 
this purpose. 

Cycads have their economic uses, too, and are therefore 
looked upon as valuable plants in some, of their native countries. 
Thus we find that from the nuts of Cycas circinalis, L., which is 
very abundant in many of the Hast Indian forests, especially in 
Malabar and Cochin, a kind of sago is prepared. For this 
purpose the nuts or seeds are exposed to the heat of the sun for 
a few weeks to dry, the kernels are then taken out and pounded 
ina mortar. This flour is extensively used by the forest tribes 
and poorer classes of the natives in various parts of India and 
Ceylon. This plant grows also in the Fiji Islands, but not very 
plentifully ; a kind of sago is there prepared from the pith of 
the stem, but on account of the comparative scarceness of the 
plant it is not an article of general use, and is used only by the 
chiefs and their guests. From this species a clear transparent 
gum-resin exudes, which hardens by exposure to the sun and. 
much resembles gum tragacanth in appearance. This gum in 
India has the repute of being a good antidote for snake bites, 
and is also used for ulcers of all descriptions. 

The genus Macrozamia has a wide distribution in Australia, 
The nuts of Macrozanua spiralis form an article of food in times 
of scarcity ; they have, however, little to recommend them, and 
unless properly prepared are apt to produce unpleasant effects 
upon the system. ‘This can be obviated by first steeping the 
nuts in water and then roasting them. A quantity of gum, 
resembling tragacanth both in substance and appearance, is 


252 Oycads. 


exuded by the cylindrical half-buried stem of this plant. Gum 
is also exuded by the fruit, but it is darker and more trans- 
parent than that obtained from the stem. 

In the Bahamas, the natives prepare a kind of starch from 
the trunk of Zamia tenwis, Willd., which they use as arrowroot, 
and for which, being very pure, it is a good substitute. In 
many of the West Indian Islands another species of the same 
genus, Z. furfuracea, Ait., furnishes a similar article of food. 
Dion edule, L., is a native of Mexico, and an abundant supply of 
starch is there obtained from its seeds, and forms by no means 
an unimportant article of food. The nuts of this plant are 
much larger than those either of Cycas or Zamia, and approach 
nearer to those of the Australian genus, Macrozamia, the 
ordinary size of them being about that of a common chesnut, — 
though occasionally seen much larger. 

It will be seen that starch, or sago, is produced by most of 
the plants belonging to this order, and may be prepared either 
from the trunk or the seeds. This, naturally enough, led to the 
belief, some years ago, when the true source whence our com- 
mercial sago was obtained was yet unknown, that it was 
furnished by these plants. They were then looked upon as 
palms, and the East Indian species acknowledged without 
doubt as furnishing the source whence our supplies. were 
obtained ; more recent researches, however, prove that the sago 
so largely imported into this country is obtained from a true 

alm. 

We havo thus attempted to describe the peculiarities, value, 
and uses of one of the most singular natural orders in the 
whole ‘vegetable kingdom. Their interest is not confined to 
one point, but is manifold, whether as to their singular habits, 
their geological history, or their present economic uses. ‘The 
cycads therefore deserve a greater claim upon our attention 
than has been hitherto given to them. 


oo 


Discovery of Poison Organs in Fishes. 25 


DISCOVERY OF POISON ORGANS IN FISHES. 
COMMUNICATED BY HENRY WOODWARD, F.zZ.8. 


AL comparative anatomists, from Cuvier down to the present 
day, have decided to treat the accounts given by Pliny, Atlian, 
and Oppian, and other old writers, of the poisonous nature of 
wounds inflicted by fish-spines as incredible, and only deserving 
a place among “‘ Old wives’ fables.”? Cuvier observes, “ having 
no canal, nor communicating with any gland, they are unable to 
shed any venom, properly so called, into the wound.” 

Notwithstanding the verdict of science against the common 
belief of fishermen, not only on our own coasts, but on the 
shores of France and Spain, and among the natives of India 
also, the conviction has always prevailed, that certain fishes 
(belonging to the family of Acanthopterygii or perches), armed 
with strong spines upon the gill covers and the dorsal fin, 
inflicted poisonous wounds with these defences. 

That this is really so would seem to have been proved by 
numerous cases recorded upon good medical authority, of 
severe inflammation and permanently stiffened joints, resulting 
from punctures inflicted by the spines of the “common 
weever,” or “ sting-fish” (Trachinus vipera), of our shores. 

_ The virulence of such injuries, has, however, always been 
referred, in books upon natural history, to the rugged and 
lacerated condition of the wound, or to the serrated form of the 
spine which caused it. This may be true in the case of wounds 
caused by the cat-fish and other Siluroid fishes armed with 
serrated spines; but certainly does not account for the viru- 
lence of wounds produced by smooth-spined fishes like the 
perch family. 

Professor Allman made a most. interesting communication 
upon this very subject, so long ago as November, 1840, to the 
Annals and Magazine of Natural History (vol. vi., p. 161). 
_ He there says, ‘‘ On the 9th August, 1839, I was wounded near 
the top of the thumb by a Trachinus vipera, which had just 
been taken in aseine with herrings, sand-eels, etc. The wound 
was inflicted by the spine attached to the gill-cover, during my 
attempt to seize the fish. A peculiar stinging pain occurred a 
few seconds after the wound, and this gradually increased 
during a period of fifteen minutes. The pain had now become 
most intolerable, extending along the back of the thumb 
towards the wrist; it was of a burning character, resembling 
the pain produced by the sting of a wasp, but much more 
intense. 


254 Discovery of Poison Organs in Fishes. 


The thumb now began to swell, and exhibited an inflamma- 
tory blush, extending upwards to the wrist. 

The pain was now distinctly throbbing and very excrucia- 
ting. In this state it continued for about an hour, when 
the pain began somewhat to subside, the swelling and redness 
still continuing. In about an hour anda half the pain was 
nearly gone. Next morning the swelling of the thumb had but 
slightly diminished, and was in some degree diffused over the 
back of the hand, the thumb continued red and hot, and pain- 
ful on pressure over the metacarpal bone. In a few days the 
swelling had completely subsided ; but the pain on pressure 
continued for more than a week.”’ 

The spines of the opercula in this fish, of which we have 
two species (the Zrachinus vipera and the Trachinus draco), ° 
are deeply grooved along their edges, each groove terminating 
at the base of the spine in a conical cavity. The integument 
is continued over the spine to within a very short distance of 
the point, forming a complete sheath for nearly its entire 
length, and converting the grooves at each side into perfect 
tubes, extending from the base to the point of the spine. The 
result of this arrangement is a structure beautifully adapted 
for the conveyance of a fluid from the base to the apex of the 
spine. 

: The spines of the dorsal fin in the Weevers are also grooved, 
but the grooves become superficial, and disappear towards the 
base, and do not terminate in cavities similar to those at the 
bases of the spines of the opercula. Professer Allman did not 
succeed in detecting any specific gland connected with this 
apparatus, but at the bottom of each of the conical cavities of 
the opercula he noticed a small pulpy mass, which he considered. 
might possibly be a glandular structure; but he adds, “In 
ascribing to it the property of secreting the virus, I do 
nothing more than hazard a conjecture.” 

‘The next recorded observations upon this subject are by 
Isaac Byerley, Hsq., in the Proceedings of the Liverpool — 
Literary and Philosophical Society, vol. 1. p. 156, May, 1849. _ 

Mr. Byerley records carefully the effects produced by 
wounds from these fishes, and gives also sections of the spines, to 
show the side grooves which Dr. Allman had already described. 
He says it has been suggested that the fish is capable, of 
secreting mucus from its skin of great acridity, which, follow- 
ing the spine into the wound, might produce the effects men- 
tioned, A. large quantity of mucus is secreted by means of 
glands under the skin in all fishes, but it would, Mr. Byerley 
considers, be very remarkable that the Trachinus alone should 
secrete it of so irritating a quality. The upper part of the 
membrane covering the spines, especially the opercular ones, 


Discovery of Poison Organs in Fishes. 255 


forms such loose envelopes to them, that it is quite possible a 
portion of such secretion might intervene between the spine 
and its sheath, and, in that case, the spine would always have 
a charge of virus ready for use. 

I always (he adds) favoured the idea that acrid mucus, 
either normally so formed, or the result of excitement, was the 
cause of the phenomena we have been considering until recently, 
but having observed a new structure occupying the grooves in 
the spines, which appears to be an organ destined to secrete a 
specific poison, I have willingly given up the doubtful for what 
appears to be a certain cause. 

And it was just this one mistake which prevented Mr. 
Byerley and his friend Dr. Inman from arriving at probably the 
true solution of this interesting anatomical point. 

Dr. Inman (Mr. Byerly tells us) was fortunate enough, not 
haying an immediate opportunity of examining the fishes in 
their fresh state, to immerse them in spirit and water, in con- 
sequence of which the gland became more opaque and denser. — 

J (he adds) always had fresh fishes at hand, and in preparing 
the parts for examination without having used spirit, must 
have torn the gland from its usual resting-place. In fact what 
Mr. Byerley saw only in spirit-specimens, was, in reality, no 
organ at all, but the coagulated mucus fluid occupying the oper- 
cular grooves and the space within the integument of the spine, 
which only became visible from the effect of the spirit upon 
the secretion. ‘The structure which he figures and describes as 
glandular, is merely the thickened appearance of this fluid 
under the microscope. 

It remained for my distinguished friend and colleague Dr. 
Albert Gunther, to give a complete demonstration of this most 
interesting poimt of Ichthyological anatomy. He did so in 
describing a new species of Batrachoid fish, from Panama, 
before the Zoological Society, on 22nd March last. 

Dr. Giinther remarked that many fishes were dreaded on 
_ account of their spine defences, such as the Sting-rays and 
Siluroid fishes, and some scaly fishes, as the Weevers. Exag- 
gerated accounts, no doubt, were often circulated of the venom- 
ous nature of these fishes; still, in some cases, it seems certain 
the wounds must have been poisoned. No trace, however, of 
an organ secreting a poisonous substance could be found, and 
all handbooks of comparative anatomy denied the presence of 
such a gland in any fish. 

The axil of the pectoral fin of many Siluroid fishes, Dr. 
Gimther observed, contained a cavity with a mucous fluid, 
which might be imtroduced into a wound by means of the 
pectoral spine like the poisoned arrow of the Bushman. He 
had no doubt of the poisonous nature of the contents of 


256 Discovery of Poison Organs in Fishes. 


this axillary sac after discovering in another genus of fishes 
a poison-organ which structurally is identical with and as 
complete as that of the venomous snakes. This fish belongs 
to the family Batrachide, and a single species of the genus 
has already been described in the Museum catalogue of 
fishes, part ui. page 174, under the name Thalassophryne 
maculata. Beimg a very small species, Dr. Gunther did not 
discover the apertures in the spines, although really exist- 
ing. A second species having been recently brought over 
with a collection of fishes from Guatemala by Messrs. Salvin 
and Godman, which has been named Thalassophryne reticulata, 
being ten and a-half inches long, the structure of these spines 
was more easily discovered. ~ 

This fish is armed with a single sharp spine upon each’ 
opercular bone, and two upon the dorsal fin eight lines in 
length. Each spine has an aperture on its anterior surface 
just below the apex, and upon pressing back the integu- 
ment in which it is enveloped nearly to its summit, a thick 
creamy fluid flowed or spirted from the aperture. Upon 
removing the integument with a dissecting knife a small 
sac or reservoir was exposed, attached to the opercular 


THALASSOPHRYNE RETICULATA, 


a a, The opercular spines. % 6, The dorsal spines, B d, Opening in poison sac. 
ec, The mucous canals. 


bone near its base, which contained the same creamy fluid 
which had previously been seen to exude from the aper- 
ture near its apex. On inserting a bristle into this aperture it 
reappeared at another opening near the base of the spine, and 
within the sac or reservoir already described. A tube leading 
from this reservoir was also detected, having a free end lying 
within the sac, and evidently being the canal by which the fluid 
was conveyed to this receptacle. ‘There seems no doubt that 
this canal goes directly into a branch of the mucous system of 


Discovery of Poison Organs in Fishes. 257 


* the fish, and that it is by the mucous glands that the fluid is 
secreted.* The dorsal spines were found to be furnished with 
precisely similar contrivances. 

Nobody, says Dr. Giinther, will imagine for a moment that 
this complicated apparatus can be intended for a harmless 
purpose, or to emit an innocuous fluid into a wound. 

This example of a special poison-organ in fishes, although an 
isolated one, is, nevertheless, of the highest importance, as the 
muciferous system supplying these glands is common to the 
whole class of fishes, and though not quite clearly demonstrated 
by a good anatomical examination, yet there are doubtless many 
others which will have to be added to the number; and just as 
in the class of Ophidia, we have some snakes with poisonous 
saliva and some quite innocuous, so we shall also find it to be 
with the mucous secretion of fishes. 

It must also be borne in mind that these fish-spines are 
merely weapons of defence; all the Batrachoids with obtuse 
teeth upon the palate and lower jaw, feeding upon mollusca 
and crustacea. 


EXPLANATION OF Figure or T'HALASSOPHRYNE RETICULATA 
FROM THE Pacific Coast or Panama, 1-47tH NaruraL S1zE.— 
aa, The opercular spines seen projecting from the sides of the 
fish, just above the gill openings. 06, The dorsal spines. 
e c, The mucous canals, which traverse the entire length of 
the fish on each side. A. The opercular spine seen separately 
(natural size). The openings to and from the canal by which 
the poison is introduced into wounds are indicated by arrows. 
B. The same spine with the poison-sac or reservoir attached, 
showing (d) the small orifice by which the poison is conveyed 
to the sac from the muciferous system, with its free end lying 
within the sac. 


__ * The two specimens of Thalassophryne, being distinct species, and at present 
the only existing types, have not been injected or dissected further to de- 
monstrate this point, but more specimens from Panama are shortly expected, and 
when these arrive, injections of the glands will be properly made, 


258 Mosses to be Found in May. 


MOSSES TO BE FOUND IN MAY.—CORD-MOSSES 
AND APPLE-MOSSES. — 


BY M. G@. CAMPBELL. 


THE common cord-moss (Funaria hygrometrica), which crowns 
our walls and banks almost everywhere, feels the genial power 
of May, and hastens to ripen and pour out the little seeds that 
have been hitherto so snugly encased in its pear-shaped capsule, 
and whose mouth, obliquely placed, and turning towards the 
earth, seems conveniently ready for their exit as soon as the 
little trencher-like lid has fallen off, and the large dehiscing 
annulus has unrolled, which latter act takes place immediately. 
on the fall of the lid. 

It is true that every month in the year weaves its own moss-, 
wreath, brings its own favourites to perfection, and that, there- 
fore, many a change, many an operation of marvel and of beauty, 
is continually going on around us, and as continually lost to 
the casual observer. But we invite our readers to amicroscopic 
examination of the genus /wnaria, and especially Funaria hygro- 
metrica, which is so easily procurable, as excellent examples of 
the structure and arrangement of the inflorescence and fructifica- 
tian of mossesin general. The Funarie are named from fwnis, 
a rope, cable, or cord, in allusion to the twisting of the seta in 
this genus, giving the appearance of a twisted cord. | 

They are acrocarpous, sub-biennial and loosely caspitose 
mosses, with a stem at first simple, and crowned by a barren 
discoid flower; subsequently they become branched, and ter- 
minate in fertile flowers, each producing a solitary capsule, 
obliquely pyriform, sub-ventricose, and of thick texture, with a 
mouth always more or less oblique, and often small, surrounded 
by a double peristome of sixteen divisions each ; the outer con- 
sisting of sixteen oblique, lanceolate-tapering teeth, having 
numerous prominent trabeculae on the inner side, and all con- 
nected at their apices by a small, reticulated, and circular disc. 
These teeth are also longitudinally marked with fine striae, and 
have the property of being remarkably hygrometric, spreading 
outwards in drying after the rupture of the connecting mem- 
brane. . 

The inner peristome is, at its base, somewhat coherent to 
the outer. It is also divided into sixteen processes, placed 
opposite to the outer teeth, of a lanceolate form, and each 
marked with a medial or vertical line. The lid is conical or 
obtusely convex; the annulus, when present, large, and un- 
rolling spirally, but in some species it is entirely absent. The 
leaves are of thin texture, consisting of large succulent, oblong- 


Mosses to be Found in May. 209 


hexagonal cells, or cellules, and even the nerve itself is loosely 
cellular, and it ceases at or near the apex. 

In Funaria hygrometrica, or the common cord-moss, the peri- 
cheetial leaves are connivent, ovate-lanceolate in form, concave, 
entire, nerved to the apex, and clustered together so as to form 
a sort of bud; the lower leaves are smaller, scattered, and more 
or less spreading, while those of the perigonium, or barren- 
flower, are denticulated both at the apex and at the base ; they 
are of a sub-spathulate form, and have the basal margin re- 
curved. The capsule is pyriform-incurved, strongly furrowed ° 
when dry, and having a very oblique mouth, which is surrounded 
by a beautifully corrugated border, not observable in any other 
species, and varying from deep yellow to orange or reddish as 
it ripens. The lid is plano-convex, with a red tumid or slightly 
frilled border, distinctly grooved for the lodgment of the large 
dehiscent annulus which unrolls spirally immediately after the 
lid falls away; thus, almost simultaneously, are removed two 
barriers to the exit of the spores, which are small, and of a. 
reddish-brown colour. The seta, or fruit-stalk, is arcuate and 
flexuose, the upper part twistmg to the right when dry, the 
lower in an opposite direction. In length it varies very con- 
siderably, from half an inch on the tops of exposed walls, to two 
and even three inches in more warm and sheltered situations. 
We have grown it under a glass, and found the seta attain to 
rather more than three inches in length. The outer peristome 
is reddish, the inner yellow. 

There are three varieties of this moss. The variety patula 
has a more slender stem, branched, with spreading and some- 
what undulated terminal leaves, which become twisted when 
dry. Variety calvescens, with the same kind of stem and 
leaves, but with a straight elongated fruit-stalk, and a more 
slender sub-erect capsule. We have seen some specimens 
brought from Switzerland which had grown to avery large size. 

If, as we have already said, Funaria hygrometrica, so easily 
procurable, and so easily recognizable, be carefully examined 
for some months prior to the ripening of its capsules, it will 
give no very imperfect idea of the economy of this department 
of the vegetable world. 

Previous to the appearance of the young seta at the tops of 
the mfant shoots or stems will be seen small stellate flowers of 
a reddish hue. These are the barren flowers, answering to the 
stamens of what are called phenogamous, or flowering plants, 
and. on dissection in water they will be seen to consist of a little 
cluster of vesicles of an oblong bladder-like form, mingled with 
jointed pellucid filaments, the first named antheridia, the second 
paraphyses, and these are surrounded by several rows of spread- 
ing leaves constituting the perigoniwm. The antheridia are 

VOL. V.—-NO. IV. T 


260 Mosses to be Found in May. 


at first filled with a semi-gelatinous loosely cellular tissue, each 
cellule containing a spermatozoid, which consists of a spiral 
fibre, having attached to it a very small oval or roundish cor- 
puscle, which is usually found near the middle of the spire. On 
the escape of the contents of these antheridia when mature, 
more or less of an explosive action takes place, and very soon 
after being launched into the water the spermatozoids begin to 
fidget, then to gyrate rapidly within the cells, and eventually 
bursting the walls of their cellules, they escape from confine- 
ment, and may be seen for several hours moving about in 
various directions in the water, as if wild with new-born joy at 
their escape from imprisonment. 

Thus far we have treated of the barren flower only, but the 
genus being monoicous, the fertile flower may easily be found ” 
by dissection at the apex of a young shoot at precisely the same 
season, and on the same individual plant. This flower is com- 
posed of slender flask-shaped bodies, called archegonia, which 
are mixed with jointed filaments named paraphyses, and both 
surrounded by a little cluster of leaves, which stand erect, and 
which at length become the pericheetium. 

In length the archegonia somewhat exceed the antheridia, 
but they are much more slender, indeed filiform, except towards 
the base, where they appear slightly tumid, and at the apex, 
which is somewhat expanded, the filiform connection between ~ 
the apex and the base being a canal in which is lodged a 
roundish vesicle, the nucleus or germ of the future capsule and its 
fruit-stalk ; and the perfect archegonium soon becomes etlarged 
and. swells out by the increase in bulk 
of the vesicle within it, which at length 
rends it asunder by a horizontal fissure 
near its base. ‘The upper part is then 
converted into the calyptra, and the 
lower becomes the vaginula, while the 
rudimentary vesicle itself is metamor- 
phosed into a fruit-stalk, its tapering 
base inserted firmly into the vaginula, 
and having its apex sheathed by the 
embryo calyptra. This stalk or seta 
goes on increasing in length until it has 
attained its full height, until which time 
the apex remains, as it were, stationary, 
but then it swells out, and developes 
into the capsule. This capsule consists 
of a central pillar, or column, called the 
columella, surrounded by a membranous 
pouch or bag, called the sporular sac or 
membrane, within which the spores, analogous to the particles of 


Mosses to be Found in May. 261 


pollen in flowering plants, are safely lodged in rings of mother 
cells, till the period when they are ready to take an independent 
position in the field of nature. The layer of sporules being 
surrounded by the sporal membrane, which consists also of two 
rings of cells, the outer one containing green granules, the inner 
pellucid; and these are again surrounded by the thecal mem- 
brane, consisting also of two rings of cells, the inner tinged with 
green granules, the outer pellucid; the size of the space 
between these two membranes differing not only in different 
species of mosses, but also in the same species at different 
periods of growth, being in contact in some, as in Orthotrichum 
diaphanum, and in others, “ of which fF’. hygrometrica and Bar- 
tramia pomiformis are,” says Mr. Valentine, “ the most marked 
examples ; they are widely distant, this distance, however, con- 
stantly diminishing by the growth of the columella and the 
gradual development of the sporules ;””* and over all is the theca 
or outer wall, whose cellules are slightly tinged with brown. 
At this early stage the mouth of the capsule is closed up by 
the ld or operculum, and an intermediate coloured ring, the 
annulus, formed of large cellular tissue, which, affected by 
surrounding moisture, causes the lid to fall off, and disclose the 
beautiful peristome, whose hygrometric action regulates the 
escape of the ripened spores. The outer row of teeth in this 
double peristome is a fringy continuation of the thecal mem- 
brane; the inner, a like continuation of the sporal membrane. 
Arrived at this stage of maturity, the short branch which 
bore the fertile flower has become much elongated, overtopping 
and concealing the barren flower, which will now appear to be 
at the base of the stem; and amid the cells of the theca, to- 
wards the base of the ripe capsule, may be discovered, by a good 
glass, those little stomata or pores, considered by Mr. Valentine 
as the necessary apparatus for the admission of air, in order to 
give greater firmness to the coats of the spores, and the better 
prepare them for germination. In the young state these 
stomatas are very small, and much less numerous than when 
the theca has arrived at maturity ; and in Funaria hygrometrica 
we have one of the two exceptions mentioned by Mr. Valentine 
in the Transactions of the Iinnean Society, vol. xvii. page 240, 
in the form of the stomata of mosses, as observed by him. He 
says:—“ Of 103 British species of mosses which I have examined, 
78 are furnished with stomata, their usual shape similar to the 
most common form in phenogamous plants,” to which he adduces 
only two exceptions, wnaria hygrometrica being one, each of 
whose stomata consisting of a single cell in the form of a hollow 
ring, with the sides “‘so compressed as to convert the aperture 
into a mere slit.” . 
* Tinnean Trans,, vol. xviii. page 241. 


262 Mosses to be Found in May. 


We are not aware whether Mr. Valentine has fulfilled his 
hopes of turning these stomata of mosses to account in the 
arrangement of genera; and for ourselves we incline to prefer 
more obvious characteristics as the foundation of generic dis- 
tinctions ; because, though every trace of nature’s workings 
must be teemimg with interest and pleasure to the initiated, we 
would lay on no additional bolts and bars to impede the 
entrance of the uninitiated into this temple of wonders. 

But we have dwelt long enough on Funaria hygrometrica ; 
before, however, turning to the other two members of this 
genus which we will briefly describe, we would just remark 
that F. hygrometrica has received from the French the name 
of La Charbonniere, from its frequent occurrence on those parts 
of woods, heaths, and moors which have been charred by fire, : 
or where anything has been burnt; it ought therefore to be a 
constant follower in the wake of the gipsy’s camp. 

In the two remaining Funarias the fruit-stalk is straight, 2.e., 
not arcuate, and the capsules destitute of an annulus. 

In Funaria Hibernica, or the Irish cord-moss, the fruit-stallk 
throughout its length twists to the left when dry, and the 
capsule is shortly pyriform, with a convex and papillate lid; 
the leaves are ovate-oblong, spreading, sharply serrated, 
and gradually tapering to an acuminated point. It was origi- 
nally found by Mr. J. Drummond on a chalky soil, near 
Cork, and has since been met with by Mr. Wilson, as 
mentioned by him in his Bryologia Britannica, on a limestone 
soil, near Matlock in Derbyshire, and also near Gonway, 
North Wales. But, as he remarks, it is often confounded 
with Funaria Mihlenbergu, which strongly resembles it, but 
is somewhat less of stature, and which grows in similar situa- 
tions, namely on calcareous banks, walls, etc., forming lax 
patches, with stems from one to three lines only in length, 
very simple, leafless in the lower part, and rooting only at the 
base. The lower leaves are somewhat spreading or reflexed, 
the upper ones more erect, larger than the lower, concave, 
widely ovate, and suddenly acuminated, not gradually as in 
FI, Hibernica, and instead of being acutely serrated, the serra- 
tures are blunt; the capsule is still more shortly pyriform, 
smooth, sub-erect, somewhat constricted below the mouth when 
dry, and of a yellowish or reddish-brown colour. The fruit- 
stalk is about half an inch in length, and, as in I’. hygrometrica, 
the upper part twists to the right when dry, and the lower 
part in the opposite direction; the lid too is furnished with a 
reddish border, and the outer peristome is of a bright red tint. 
The calyptra is yellowish, the spores are granular on the 
surface, and twice as large as those of I’. hygrometrica. 

All three are found in fruit in May, and I’. Miihlenbergui 


Mosses to be Found in May, 263 


takes its name from Dr. Muhlenberg, its first discoverer, who 
met with it in Pennsylvania. There are three varieties of this 
moss, having slight differences in the leaves. 

Of the Bartramiez, or apple-mosses, Bartramia pomiformis, 
or the common apple-moss, already alluded to, and Bartramia 
Oederi, Oeder’s apple-moss, both fruit in this month. 

The generic appellation of this genus was given in honour 
of Mr. Bartram, an American traveller and botanist; and its 
English name is descriptive of its sub-spherical capsule, which 
greatly resembles a miniature apple, fresh when moist, and 
when dry, furrowed, like a withered winter fruit. 

The apple-mosses grow upon rocks or upon the ground, in 
perennial turfy patches, bearing terminal fructification. Some- 
times, but rarely, they are found on the bark of trees. They 
differ in their inflorescence, which may be synoicous, monoi- 
cous, or dicicous, and in their peristome, which is sometimes 
single, sometimes double, and sometimes entirely wanting ; 
but the form of the capsule is so marked, that they can hardly 
be mistaken for any other. The rapture which we felt, now 
many years ago, on first meeting with some specimens of this 
exquisite genus will, we are sure, be a life-long joy. _ 

B. pomiformis, or the common apple-moss, may be found on 
dry shady banks in a sandy soil, and one variety, with longer 
and crisped leaves and long slender branches, inhabits the 
fissures of sub-alpine rocks. 

With densely tufted stems of a glaucous green, dichoto- 
mously branched, and varying in length from half an inch to 
two inches, Bartramia pomiformis has crowded leaves, more or 
less spreading, linear-lanceolate, narrow and tapering, the 
border tumid, with a double row of spinulose serratures ; the 
nerve sub-excurrent, and in the dry state the leaves are some- 
what crisped or tortuous. The barren and fertile flowers are 
contiguous ; the fruit-stalk from half an inch to an inch long, 
bearing the sub-globular cernuous or inclined capsule, of a 
reddish-brown colour, and, as in all the genus, furrowed when 
dry ; the lid is smalland sub-conical; the peristome double, the 
inner shorter than the outer teeth, and sometimes having cilia, 
sometimes without. Oy 

Bartramia Oederi, Oeder’s apple-moss, is also found on shady 
rocks, but chiefly on such as are calcareous and in a moist 
situation. It grows in soft, lax, extensive patches, of a dark 
green colour; its slender stems being beset with radicles, and 
reaching a length of from one to three inches; its leaves re- 
curved, and spreading every way, shorter than in other British 
species, and not sheathing nor suddenly dilated at the base, 
lanceolote and sharply keeled, the margin recurved and serrated 
at the apex, and the nerve sub-excurrent. In the dry state the 
leaves are crisped. 


264 Mosses to be Found in May. 


The capsule is small and oblique, with a rather large mouth 
in proportion to the size of the fruit, the lid plano-convex, and 
the fruit-stalk short, scarcely half an inch in length. 

Both these fruit in May. 

Bartramia ithyphylla,* or the straight-leaved, apple-moss, 
grows on alpine and sub-alpine rocks, is common on the rocks 
above Greenock and on various mountains, both in Scotland and 
Wales; it has also been found near Todmorden, in Lancashire. 

With rigid leaves of a bright yellowish green, subulato- 
setaceous, more or less spreading from a pale sheathing dilated 
base, ‘‘ by which character, and the broad predominant nerve,” 
Wilson says, “this species is easily distinguished from every — 
other British species.” The fruit-stalk is about an inch in. 
length, and the leaves are straight when dry; hence its dis-» 
tinctive appellation. 

Bartramia rigida, or the rigid apple-moss, is a dwarfish 
species, with very short slender and fragile stems, from two 
lmes to half an inch in height, downy, of a red colour, and 
having dark reddish radicles. From the branches being fas- 
ciculate, and slightly recurved with crowded leaves, it grows in 
compact tufts. It is found on shady banks in mountainous 
situations in Ireland. The leaves are lanceolate, tapering 
upwards to a narrow point, erecto-patent, straight, and rather 
rigid, the margin reflexed and serrated, rough on the back, with 
small roundish prominences or glands, which also cover the 
strong excurrent nerve. ‘The areole of the leaf haye an 
oblong-quadrate form. The fruit-stalk is about three-quarters 
of an inch in length, of reddish hue, and bearing the com- 
paratively large sub-spherical capsule, which is at first oblique, 
but subsequently cernuous, of a reddish brown, and strongly 
furrowed when dry. A double peristome surrounds the mouth, 
the outer teeth of a reddish brown, and rather short, the inner 
still shorter and sometimes deficient or rudimentary. The lid 
is convex and apiculate; the spores are reddish, partaking of 
the general hue of the plant, and the inflorescence is monoicous; 
the barren and fertile flowers approximating; and the fruit 
ripens in September and October. 

Bartramia fontana, or the fountain apple-moss, grows im 
wet places, especially near springs, as the name implies, and 
is found chiefly in mountainous countries. It has elongated 
stems, from one to six inches long, or even more, downy, with 
blackish or reddish radicles, and matted together in dense, 
extensive, yellowish or glaucous-green patches, the branches 
variously ramified, slender or robust, sometimes fasciculate and 
erect, sometimes disposed in a stellate manner; the leaves 
dimorphous, either ovate-acuminate, short and appressed to 

* From .6bs, placed upright, erect, or straight, and pvaads, foliage. 


Mosses to be Found in May. 265 


the stem, or longer, and lanceolate, spreading, or secund, ob- 
scurely plicate at the base, bluntly toothed or serrated, and 
having the margin recurved below, with a sub-excurrent nerve, 
which sometimes ceases below the apex. The leaves are also 
papillose at the back, and those of the principal stem are 
broader than those on the branches. The capsule is of thick 
texture, and large size, of a reddish-brown colour, curved, and 
longitudinally furrowed when dry; the teeth of the outer peri- 
stome are closely barred, and the inner furnished with cilia, 
bundled two or three together. The fruit-stalk is long and of 
considerable tenacity. The spores are rather large and red- 
dish ; the inflorescence dioicous, the inner leaves of the peri- 
gonium obtuse and horizontally spreading from a broad concave 
base, the nerve so very faint as to be visible only with difficulty 
and always ceasing below the apex. 

There are several varieties: variety alpina has short robust 
stems, with densely leafy branches, of an ovate-lanceolate form, — 
mucronate, and having shorter fruit-stalks. Variety falcata has 
yellowish falcato-secund leaves, with a thick reddish nerve, and 
having the branches curved at the apex. Variety pumila has 
very slender short stems, with small narrow leaves, and a 
small capsule. 

The inflorescence is dioicous and it fruits in June. 

Bartranna calearia, the thick-nerved apple-moss, has also a 
dioicous inflorescence, and grows, too, in wet places, but seems 
confined to limestone districts, and has longer and more rigid 
leaves than B. fontana; they are also less papillose, have a 
stronger nerve, larger areole, and the margin is not recurved : 
the perigonial leaves also differ considerably, being tapering to 
a very acute point, and nerved to the apex, while the teeth of 
the peristome, instead of being closely, are but remotely, 
barred: It has been found in the Highlands of Scotland, near 
Todmorden, in Lancashire, and at Hale Moss, in Cheshire. 
Its fruiting season is July, and it grows in dense patches of a 
more intense green colour than B. fontana. 

In Bartramia Halleriana, Haller’s apple-moss, the inflores- 
cence is monoicous, the stems are somewhat elongated, from 
one to three inches in height, with irregular, but fastigiate 
branches, %.e., the branches, wherever they begin, all reach an 
equal height. It forms soft, lax tufts, of a bright yellowish 
green colour, but as the stem descends it becomes covered 
with radicles of a rich brown tint. The long slender leaves 
are linear-subulate, and seem to spread in every direction from 
an erect dilated, slightly sheathing base, which is pale, and 
somewhat shining—sometimes however they are sub-secund ; 
they are roughish on both sides, serrulate at the margin, and 
are tortuous or crisped when dry. The fruit-stalk is very short, 


266 Mosses to be Found in May. 


not as long as the leaves, only about two lines in length, curved, 
and seeming to be lateral, in consequence of the growth of 
innovations, which are usually solitary; but the flowers, when 
examined at an early stage, are always found to be truly 
terminal. The moss is an inhabitant of alpine and sub-alpime 
rocks, and fruits in June and July, sometimes bearing two or 
three capsules together. 

Bartramia arcuata, or the curve-stalked oapple-moss, 
strikes us, at first sight, as an exaggeration of B. Halleriana, 
with red fruit-stalks, which, though longer, are still short and 
arcuate, being only about twice or thrice the length of the 
capsule, which hangs sub-pendulous upon it, and, as in Halleri- 
ana, have the appearance of being lateral from the same cause, . 
namely, the growth of innovations. It, too, grows in extensive 
yellowish-green patches, but the stems reach from two to four 
inches in height, densely covered with reddish-brown radicles, 
and the leaves, which are plicated, are of an ovate-lanceolate 
form, shining, sheathing and erect at the base, thence widely 
Spreading, with a nearly plain serrulate margin, and an excur- 
rent or sub-excurrent nerve. It grows on moist heaths and 
on the rocky banks of streams in hilly places, forming dense 
masses ; and though its rich golden globular capsules are 
rarely met with, its bright yellow-green foliage contrasts 
agreeably with the downy fuscous radicles that so thickly 
clothe the lower part of the stem, and this contrast renders it 
a most attractive object even in the barren state. Its frpiting 
season is September and October, two or three months later 
than BD, Halleriana, and it may be met with on the Sidlaw 
Hills, above the village of Auchterhouse, in fruit; it is also 
said to be abundant at Lodore Waterfall, near Keswick, and in 
fructification at Lidford Fall in Devonshire, and at Cromaglonn, 
near Killarney, Ireland; also sparingly in fruit near Llyn 
Ogwen in Carnaryonshire. 

Another species, Bartramia cespitosa, hitherto considered 
Swedish, has lately been found by Mr. Wilson, in a new marsh 
near Warrington ; but not having seen a specimen, we are 
unable to describe it. 

Bartramidula Wilsonii, or the beardless dwarf apple-moss, 
is amost beautiful little plant, somewhat resembling Bartramia 
fontana in miniature, but its exquisite little pink capsules are 
sub-pendulous or quite pendulous, and hang on reddish arcuate 
fruit-stalks, often three or four together, and resembling full 
short pears rather than apples in outline, are smooth, shining 
when dry, with thin, somewhat pellucid walls, which are of soft 
texture, slightly rugose in the dry state, but not striated, and 
having a small mouth destitute of peristome, and closed with a 
small sub-conical lid, which is again surmounted by a small, 


Mosses to be Found in May. 267 


cuculate, but very fugacious calyptra. The vaginula is oblong, 
and the spores are reddish, granular on the surface, and, not- 
withstandmg the diminutive stature of the moss, its stems 
scarcely reaching half an inch in height, they are even some- 
what larger than the spores of Bartramia fontana. The branches 
are fascicled, two, three, or more together, and sub-erect; the 
leaves ovate-acuminate, or lanceolate-acuminate, slightly secund 
and sub-erect, the nerve reaching nearly to the apex, or some- 
times excurrent; they are finely serrated in the upper part, and 
are composed of rather lax oblong cellules. The fruiting season 
is October, and it has been found growing in different iocalities 
on the mountains of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; but Mr. 
Wilson says, “‘It has not yet been observed in any other coun- 
try, and is liable to be overlooked on account, of its diminutive 
size.” 

Of the two other species of apple-moss, Catoscopiwm nigritum, 
or the lurid apple-moss, is somewhat allied in habit to the Bar- 
trama, but Bridel and Wilson make a separate genus for it, 
named xatw from down, and, cxo7réw to look, in allusion to the 
appearance of the capsule, which suddenly bends forward, as if 
looking down from the top of its seta, or solitary elongated 
pedestal. It is small, roundish, smooth, shining, and of a thick 
texture, almost horny, with a rather oblique mouth, destitute of 
an annulus, and having a small conical lid, which covers a single 
peristome of sixteen short, lanceolate, or truncate teeth, trans- 
versely barred, irregular, and marked with a medial line, which 
leads one to suspect that, as in some other mosses, it may be 
the junction of two teeth cemented, as it were, into one; some- 
times, also, obscure traces of an inner peristome may be dis- 
covered, The spores are comparatively large and smooth; the 
calyptra small, shaped like a little hood, smooth, and usually 
fugacious, though occasionally found remaining on, or rather 
adhering to the fruit-stalk beneath the capsuie, which, when 
mature, is black, hence its specific name. 

The inflorescence is dioicous, with terminal flowers; she 
leaves lanceolate, carinate, nerved, somewhat recurved, and | 
spreading ; the areole small, quadrate, and opaque, and though 
the species is rare, being found only in a few places, it is peren- 
nial in its native habitats, which are moist alpine rocks, or sub- 
alpine marshy places. It is plentiful on Ben-y-gloe, near Blair, 
in Athol, and we have seen specimens brought from the sands 
of Barrie, on the coast of Forfarshire—a circumstance which 
goes to prove what has been often asserted, namely, that the 
climate of the lofty mountain and that of the seashore are very 
closely allied, and the sight of this little tenant of the mountain 
wild, and of the lowly beach, ever brings with it associations 
both pleasing and sublime. It grows in soft green tufts, the 


268 Mosses to be Found in May. 


stems varying in height from two to-six inches, or even more, 
slender, almost filiform, flexuose, and beset with reddish brown 
radicles in the lower part. “. 

The only remaining example is the naked apple-moss, Dis- 
celium nudum, to which also a separate genus is given, named 
from dus, twice or two, and oxndos, a leg, because the teeth are 
split into two divisions from the base to the middle, giving the 
appearance of legs. They are also jointed. Disceliwm nudum 
is the only known species of this singular genus, which seems 
to combine in itself some of the attributes of three others; for 
example, it resembles Catoscopium im its capsule, Phascwm in 
its mode of growth, and Trematodon in its peristome. Like 
the Phascums, it is almost stemless, and, like them, grows from 
a conferva-like thallus, which in Disceliwm has a green velvety» 
appearance; the leaves are few and imbricated, concave, entire, — 
ovate-lanceolate, and almost destitute of nerve; the areole lax, 
oblong-hexagonal, and diaphanous. Their number is about six 
or eight, and they seem to be solely or chiefly a gemmiform 
envelope for the inflorescence. When old they are of a pale 
reddish hue, and the green velvety thallus withers and becomes 
discoloured soon after the formation of the fruit; and frequently 
by the action of the frost in winter it decays and mixes itself 
with the mould of the substratum, even before the ripening of 
the capsules, which does not occur till February or March. 
The capsule is sub-globose, as we have already said, resembling 
Catoscopium, but is reddish in colour, and more or less cernu- 
ous ; the lid, however, is large, conical, and more or less acute ;-- 
the annulus, too, which is sub-persistent, is large, composed of 
a double row of cellules; the vaginula oblong, not much thicker 
than the fruit-stalk, which latter is about an inch long, reddish, 
and flexuose ; the calyptra is narrow, smooth, and subulate, 
and splitting on one side throughout its whole length, the 
fissure ascending spirally. Like that of Catoscopium, it is 
fugacious, or when entire at the base, which is frequently the 
case, being longer than the fruit, it remains attached to the 
fruit-stalk beneath the capsule. ‘The spores are of moderate 
size, punctulate and reddish. 

The favourite habitats of the species are the clayey declivi- 
ties of the North of England and Scotland. It was first dis- 
covered by Mr. George Cayley near Manchester; Mr. Don 
also found it by the side of the river Tay near Perth; and it 
has since been met with in several places, especially in the 
neighbourhood of Manchester, turning the vicinity of that busy 
scene of manual labour into classic ground for the botanist and 
the lover of nature’s most lovely forms, and linking it with 
associations and recollections, apart from the every-day tur- 
moil of the struggle for existence. 


t 


Molecular Motions in-Iiving Bodies. ~ 269 


MOLECULAR MOTIONS IN LIVING BODIES. 


BY HENRY J. SLACK, F.G.S., 
Member of the Microscopical Society. 


Bzrorz suggesting inquiry into the part which molecular mo- 
tions perform in the growth and decay of livmg organisms, 
I shall endeavour to make the subject more generally interesting 
by a few preliminary observations, which may assist those to 
whom it is entirely new. 

In order to know what molecular movements are, a small 
drop of water should be placed ona glass slide, just touched 
with a fine camel-hair brush whose point has been dipped in 
gamboge, then covered with a thin glass, and viewed with a 
z objective and second eye-piece, or with a higher power, 
if one is at hand. The scene disclosed to the eye is singularly 
strikmg when first observed, and may be frequently seen 
without losing the interest it originally inspires. Thousands © 
of little round particles are perceived to keep up an active 
fidgetty motion, sometimes approaching, sometimes receding, 
rolling, quivering, shaking, and comporting themselves not 
unlike a swarm of live creatures suddenly frightened and not 
at all clear what they are about. If the water does not evapo- 
rate, the spectacle may be watched for hours, until, at length, 
it usually happens that the particles adhere to the glass, and 
quiet is restored. 

‘The French call these movements ‘ Brownian,” after their 
discoverer, the famous English botanist, and they may be pro- 
duced with any material not soluble in water, provided the 
size of the particles is proportioned to their own specific gravity 
and to that of the fluid. What is required is, that the particles 
shall be freely suspended in the liquid, and be of minute di- 
mensions. Substances of nearly the same specific gravity as 
water will have little tendency to rise or fall, and that tendency 
is easily controlled, for a time, by reducing them to a moderate 
degree of fineness. The particles of the water cohere with a 
certain force, so that a greater force is necessary to make any 
substance move either upwards or downwards in that fluid. 
It is more easy to move through a light fluid than a dense one. 
Fresh water, for example, opposes less resistance than salt. 
Every bather has noticed the difference between trying to touch 
the bottom in a river and in the sea, while Dead Sea water is so 
heavy as to make swimming an easy task for an animal not 
specifically heavier than a man. In like manner limpid fluids 

oppose less resistance than sticky ones; and an insect that can 
— easily through water, is sadly impeded when immersed in 
glue. 


270 Molecular Motions nv Living Bodies, 


When any insoluble body is pressed under water, it dis- 
places its own bulk of that fluid. If it is lighter than that bulk, 
it is forced up, and floats. If heavier, it is forced down by 
gravitation, and sinks. But although the specific gravity of a 
substance is greater than that of water, it will still float, pro- 
vided its surface is extended, so that the resistance of the 
water, arising from the cohesion of its particles, is made equal, 
or more than equal to, the weight of the substance, or force, 
with which it gravitates. Thus a film of gold leaf will float, 
while the same weight of gold in a pellet falls fast. From 
these facts it results that im order to cause a heavy metal like 
gold or platina to be suspended in water, with little tendency 
to fall, its particles must be reduced to such a degree of 
fineness that their weight is nearly counterbalanced by the 
resistance which the fluid offers to the passage of their bulk, 
This can be accomplished more easily than might be expected, 
because the weight of round bodies diminishes much faster 
than their size. The rule is, that the contents of spheres are as 
the cubes of their diameter, so that if a ball three inches in 
diameter weighed 27, another ball one inch in diameter would 
only weigh 1. Thus a moderate reduction in the size of a 
round particle makes a great deal of difference in its weight. 

When a minute particle is freely suspended in a highly 
mobile fluid like water, the slightest force of any kind will 
disturb its equilibrium, and impart some motion; but exactly 
what force causes the molecular movements does not appear to 
have been ascertained. Dr. Carpenter gives an interesting 
summary of what is known, in his work on the Microscope, 
from which we will make a quotation. He says :—- 

“Nothing is better adapted to show it (the molecular 
motion) than a minute portion of gamboge, indigo, or carmine, 
rubbed up with water, for the particles of these substances that 
are not dissolved, but only suspended, are of sufficiently large 
size to be easily distinguished with a magnifying power of 250 
diameters, and are seen in perpetual locomotion, ‘Their move- 
ment is chiefly of an oscillatory kind, but they also rotate back- 
wards and forwards upon their axis, and they gradually change 
their places in the field of view. It may be observed that the 
movement of the smallest particles is the most energetic, and 
that the largest are quite motionless, while those of inter- 
mediate size move but with comparative inertness. The move- 
ment is not due, as some have imagined, to evaporation of 
the liquid, for it continues without the least abatement of 
energy in a drop of aqueous fluid that is completely surrounded 
by oil, and is therefore cut off from all possibility of evapora- 
tion; and it has been known to continue for many years in a 
small quantity of fluid enclosed between two glasses in an air- 


Molecular Motions in Inwing Bodies. 271 


tight case. It is, however, greatly accelerated and rendered 
more energetic by heat; and this seems to show that it is due 
either directly to some calorical changes continually taking 
place in the fluid, or to some obscure chemical action between 
the solid particles and the fluid, which is indirectly promoted 
by heat.” 

The Micrographic Dictionary states “that neither light, elec- 
tricity, magnetism, nor chemical re-agents exert any effect upon 
it;”” but it may perhaps be worth while to verify these asser- 
tions. 

After witnessing the molecular movements with gamboge, 
as recommended at the beginning of this paper, let two minute 
drops, one of water and the other of gum water, be placed near 
each other on a slide. Put a little gamboge into the water-drop, 
and then cover both drops with a light thin piece of glass. The 
two drops will mix slowly, and it is then easy to see the gradual 
effect of the introduction of the gum in arresting the motion, by 
diminishing the mobility of the fluid. Tosee the effects of heat, | 
place the microscope upright, lay a thin strip of sheet zinc on 
the stage, having a little hole cut in it, and long enough that 
one eud shall project an inch or two beyond the stop on one 
side ; then place a piece of thin glass over the hole in the zinc, 
put a drop of gamboge water upon it, cover with another thin 
glass, place a spirit-lamp under the projecting part of the zinc 
plate, and watch the result as the heat is conducted to the fluid 
and its contents. The heat gives rise to currents in the water- 
drop, and the additional motion thus imparted—one of distinct 
translation in a given course—must not be confounded with 
_the peculiar molecular fidget which will go on 
with accelerated velocity at the same time. 

Passing from instances of molecular motion 


in water-drops, it is interesting to watch it in er 
living bodies. In the cells of confervee it may 

be frequently met with, and it is probably con- 

cerned in the so-called “swarming process” of | § 

desmids and other simple plants. When the We y gonoo. 


chlorophyl of conferva cells is undergoing de- 
cay, the molecular movements may be continually 
seen; but it is not every mode of decay that 
breaks up the larger masses into the little 
particles convenient for its exhibition. Fig. 1 
represents its appearance, so far as stationary 
dots can indicate it, in a common conferva, and 
I have seen it conspicuously shown in the cells 
of a moss often found in ponds—Fontinalis antipyretica. 
Although frequently associated with decay, it apparently 
also forms part of the series of operations that take place in 


272 Molecular Motion in Inving Bodies. 


healthy cells, and I think it is exhibited in many of the condi- 
tions under which the protoplasm of plants is engaged in forming 
new organs, as well as in other cases in which previously 
existing forms are being taken to pieces. Ina physical point 
of view, all that is required is the presence of molecules of the 
right size, in proportion to their weight, in a fluid of suitable 
density, and not too viscid. 

The higher the power employed, the more extensively 
this kind of motion can be traced. With my jth I 
have seen it well displayed in extremely minute vacuoles of 
ciliated infusoria, and recently was much struck with it in blood 
corpuscles taken from the gills of tadpoles in an early stage. I 
believe I am right in stating that true blood corpuscles result 
from embryonic or primary cells, differmg considerably from 
perfect blood corpuscles either white or red. In my tadpole 
babies the particles circulating through 
the gills im close, chain-like array, pre- 
sented, when immersed in water, instead. 
of the characteristic reptilian form, the 
appearance of Fig. 2, and all the little 
particles represented by the engraver’s 
dots, were in strong molecular motion, 
which I presume to be connected with the process of develop- 
ment. White nucleated corpuscles are gradually formed, giving 
rise, in their turn, to the red. 

The molecular motions must tend in living vessels, as they 
do in pails or jugs, to prevent a fluid from clearing by the sink- 
ing down of small suspended matters. They must also promote 
any chemical and physical action between the fluid and the 
particles which are continually rubbing themselves against it, 
and they may thus perform an important function in the pro- 
cesses both of vital construction and decay. 

I append to these brief notes a few extracts fram two very 
important papers by Professor Lionel Beale, which appeared in 
the January and April numbers (1864) of the Quarterly Journal 
of Microscopic Science :— . 


MINUTE PARTICLES OF GHRMINAL MATTER IN THE BLOOD. 


“In the blood of man and the higher animals a great num- 
ber of minute particles, of the same general appearance and 
refractive power as the matter of which the white blood cor- 
puscles are composed, may be demonstrated. Some of these 
particles probably, under certain conditions, grow into ordinary 
white corpuscles, while others, after increasing to a certain size, 
become red blood corpuscles.*” Dr. Beale adds that both 


* Quarterly Journal of Microscopic Science, April, 1864, page 48. 


‘The Phosphates used in Agriculture. 273 


white and red corpuscles vary much more in size than is usually 
supposed. 
FOUR KINDS OF MATTER IN THE BLOOD. 

*< In the blood we have—1. Matter that is living and active. 
2. Matter that has ceased to live, and which now possesses 
peculiar properties and chemical composition. 3. Matter which 
results from the disintegration of the formed material; and 4. 
Matter (pabulum) which is about to live, or about to be con- 
verted into living matter. . . . . I believe the colourless 
corpuscles, and the colourless nuclei of the red corpuscles, 
consist of matter in a living state, while there are reasons for 
concluding that the coloured material has ceased to exhibit vital 
properties.”’* ; 

SHAPE OF BLOOD CORPUSCLES. 


“Tf the oval corpuscles of a frog be left at rest ina fluid of 
about the same density as themselves, they become completely 
spherical, and a similar change occurs in the oval blood corpus- 
cles of all animals that I have examined.” + 


THE PHOSPHATES USED IN AGRICULTURE. 
BY DR. T. L. PHIPSON, F.C.S. LONDON, ETC. 


It is now some twenty years since the great truth of the gradual 
exhaustion of soils by continued cultivation began to dawn 
vividly, and with all its force, upon the agricultural public of 
Great Britain. Numerous analyses of soils and plants, under- 
taken, in the first instance, to satisfy an ever-increasing 
curiosity, soon demonstrated, in a most forcible and practical 
manner, the nature of the ingredients which our crops take 
yearly from the soil, and which, in a country so thickly popu- 
lated as England, it is indispensable to restore in some way or 
other to the soil, in order to keep up a proper degree of 
fertility. 

The art of manuring, practised for centuries before, began 
to be understood within the last quarter of a century only; 
and though the labours of Liebig in Germany, and Boussin- 
gault im France, preceded by those of Sir Humphry Davy in 
this country, have contributed not a little to our present know- 
ledge of the subject, yet in no country have the influences of 
science been so considerable, so gigantic, as in our own. The 
reason of this, doubtless, lies in the actual population of Great 
Britain, of which the average to the square mile is greater 


* Quarterly Journal of Microscopic Science, January, 1864, page 34. 
t+ Ibid, page 34. 


274 The Phosphates used in Agriculture. 


than that of any other country ; consequently, the soil here is 
caused to do its utmost, and the effects of exhaustion have 
been sooner and more keenly felt. Although scientific agri- 
culture, as regards its diffusion among the people, is still in a 
deplorable state on the continent of Europe, as may be seen 
by glancing from time to time at the periodical literature of 
Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy, the time will certainly 
come when the art of manufacturmg and applying manures of 
all descriptions will be as actively pursued in these countries 
as in England at the present day. 

Three of the more important ingredients which soils lose 
by cultivation, and which it is necessary to restore to them in 
greater or smaller quantities, are potash, nitrogen, and phos- 
phate of lime. Nature herself supplies these substances to_ 
the soil in various ways, and in quantity sufficient for the 
growth of wild plants. Thus, potash is washed into the soil 
by the rain-waters which flow over granitic and felspar 
rocks, so that every little stream contains some of it; nitrogen, 
in the form of ammonia, is constantly present in the atmosphere, 
and phosphate of lime is very widely distributed over the 
globe. Moreover, the excrements of animals contain all three. 
Another ingredient very essential to vegetable life is carbonic 
acid, of which there is so large a supply in the atmosphere, in 
the streams, and rocks of the globe, that it is rarely necessary 
to supply it artificially to our cultivated crops. 

I have said that nature supplies a sufficiency of these more 
important constituents of the fertile soil, to ensure the growth 
and luxuriance of wild plants. But in agriculture we are 
dealing with an artificial state of things, and the natural supply 
no longer suffices to maintain fertility in our cultivated soils. 
In our present system of manuring potash is supplied by 
farm-yard manure, sometimes by wood-ashes, and by manures 
made by drying the excrements of animals (sewage, etc.) 
The first and last of these supply also ammonia and phosphates. 
Our chief sources of nitrogen are Peruvian guano, nitrate 
of soda, and sulphate of ammonia (from the gas-works). The 
first of these supplies, at the same time, phosphate of lime, and 
the last is sometimes introduced into artificial manures, 
such as the ammoniacal superphosphates. 

Our sources of phosphate of lime are most numerous, and 
it is to these alone that I shall devote the present paper. A 
few years ago, all the phosphorus used for the manufacture of 
lucifer matches was extracted from bones, the phosphate of 
lime used in the various manufactories was likewise obtained 
from bones. ‘These were principally collected in the streets and 
waste places, at butchers’ establishments, etc. Since the 
manufacture of superphosphate of lime began for the use of the 


The Phosphates used in Agriculture. 275 


farmer, not only immense quantities of ox bones have been im- 
ported yearly into England from South America and other 
countries, but a large number of natural deposits of phosphate 
of lime have been discovered and utilized without delay in the 
interests of agriculture and manufactures. It was shown by 
Liebig that it was of little use to supply ground bones to the 
soil in order to obtain a rapid result, for the bone earth takes a 
long time to become soluble by the action of the carbonic acid, 
and other vegetable acids of the soil, and cannot penetrate into 
the tissues of plants until it is so dissolved. In order, there- 
fore, to furnish plants with phosphate of lme in a soluble 
state, Liebig proposed that bones or other phosphates should be 
treated with sulphuric acid. Hence arose the manufacture of 
superphosphate or soluble phosphate of lime, which has, of late 
years, taken such extension in England. It is to this manufac- 
ture principally that is owmg the enormous importations of 
phosphate of lime in various forms which arrive in Great 
Britain from all parts of the globe. 

It was probably the introduction of guano from South 
America that brought certain practical minds to consider more 
attentively the best means of restoring fertility of exhausted 
soils and of keeping up the fertility of those not yet exhausted. 
This extraordinary and powerful manure, the enormous supplies 
of which appear to have been stored up by Providence for the 
actual wants of agriculture, as the endless supplies of coal have 
accumulated in bygone ages to supply the wants of our 
manufactories, was brought to Hurope in 1804 by Alexander 
von Humboldt as a scientific ewriosity. Its valuable nature was 
not entirely appreciated by the publicat large until about 1838, 
when large quantities of it began to be imported into England 
asa manure. ‘T'wo years later (1840), Liebig brought out his 
well-known work on agricultural chemistry, making known the 
principle of the manufacture of superphosphate of lime, and 
in 1842, Mr. Lawes began to manufacture this superphosphate 
manure. 

Guano being, as is well-known, the accumulated excrement 
of sea-fowl (and, consequently, having the same composition as 
the excrements of pigeons and other domestic birds), is abun- 
dant in many parts of the globe. In certain tropical regions 
(Peru, Chinca Isles, etc.), where it never rains, this guano is 
very rich in urate, oxalate, and phosphate of ammonia, besides 
containing about 22 or 23 per cent. of phosphate of lime. But 
in localities which are frequently visited by hurricanes and much 
rain, the organic constituents and salts of ammonia are washed 
out, and the mimeral constituents increase in proportion: the 
guano becomes less valuable as a manure, by loss of its ammo- 
niacal compounds, but constitutes a plentiful source of phosphate 

VOL. V.—NO. IV. U 


276 The Phosphates used in Agriculture. 


of lime. Such are the phosphates known as “ West India phos- 
phate,” “ Bolivian guano,” etc. These contain from 40 to 60 
per cent. (and sometimes more) of ordinary phosphate of lime, 
whilst their per-centage of nitrogen (ammonia) dwindles down 
to 2,1, or even 0°5 per cent., as the phosphate increases. 
Here, then, is an abundant source of phosphate of lime. 

But several West India islands furnish a species of hard 
rock, of very peculiar aspect, consisting chiefly of phosphate of 
lime. Many persons consider that this rock has been derived 
from guano, supposing it to be the result of exposure to the 
atmosphere for thousands of years; others imagine it to be 
guano modified by volcanic action. I have examined this 
mineral phosphate,* and find that it contains not only phosphate 
of lime, but also a considerable proportion of phosphate of 
alumina—a substance not met with im guano: it is, im fact, a 
compound of phosphate of lime and phosphate of alumina, con- 
taining about 17 per cent. of the latter, and 65 per cent. of 
the former. As this rock is principally derived from the little 
island of Sombrero, I called it Sombrerite. This is another 
tolerably abundant source of phosphate of lime, much used in 
the manufacture of superphosphate manure. 

Another hard phosphatic rock, of a similar dis eosnlaeuaae is 
found upon Monk Island, in the Gulf of Venezuela. Although 
I have received for analysis in my laboratory many hundred 
specimens of the different phosphates mentioned in this paper, 
I have never yet met with this one from Monk Island; but I 
have reason to believe it is a substance similar in all respects 
to Sombrerite. Whether it be so or not cannot be determined 
by the few incomplete analyses that appear to have been made 
of it hitherto. However, it constitutes a cheap source of phos- 
phate to manufacturers of superphosphate manure; and it 
appears to contain 78 to 80 per cent. of phosphate of lime. 

Another, and most abundant source of phosphate of lime is, 
1am happy to say, an indigenous one, and one which is very 
extensively utilized in the manufacture of superphosphate. I 
allude to the Cambridge and Suffolk coprolites. These are hard 
nodules, somewhat cylindrical, and having rounded edges. 
The Cambridge coprolites are found in the upper green sand, 
where they form extensive deposits, and are so intimately 
mixed, on their surface, with the green sand itself, that their 
true colour i is only seen when they are broken. They contain 
60 to 65 per cent. of phosphate of lime, sometimes rather more, 
and when ground form a yellowish-white powder. They are 
supposed to be the fossil excrement of extinct animals, hence 
their curious name, derived from the Greek; but we have not 


* Journal of the Chemical Society, 1862. 


The Phosphates used in Agriculture. 277 


sufficient proof of this extraordinary supposition. However, 
the revelations of geology during the past twenty years have 
been so exceedingly wonderful, that one is readily tempted to 
admit that some of these coprolites are the fossil excrement of 
certain extinct animals, probably reptiles, and therefore cor- 
respond somewhat in their chemical composition to guano 
which has been deprived of its organic matter by atmospheric 
influences. Specimens of such guano have given me, upon 
analysis, from 15 to 30 per cent. of carbonate of lime, which 
resembles the proportion of carbonate of lime invariably present 
in every description of coprolites. 

The main thing that regards the agriculturist or manure 
manufacturer, however, is their chemical composition, by which 
these Cambridge coprolites appear to be the cheapest source of 
phosphate of lime at present known. The Suffolk coprolites 
are dark brown nodules, some of which have very much the 
appearance of fossil bones rounded by the action of the sea. 
They always contain a certain amount of red oxide of iron, and 
about 56 per cent. of phosphate of ime; they are consequently 
rather less valuable than the pure Cambridge coprolites ; more- 
over, they appear to belong to the tertiary formations. 

All these coprolites, and, indeed, all natural phosphates 
used in agriculture, except apatite (see further), contain a cer- 
tain amount of carbonate of lime and insoluble silicious matter, 
and it is important to manufacturers and agriculturists to have 
the proportions of these determined accurately, otherwise they 
have no control over adulteration, and no basis to work upon in 
the manufacture of artificial manures. 

Along with Cambridge coprolites I have found fragments 
of fossil bone—bones of reptiles, probably—showing the same 
chemical composition as the rounded nodules or coprolites 
themselves. ‘The Suffolk coprolites appear to be chiefly fossil 
bone, more or less impregnated with phosphate of iron, etc. 

But the whole of the Upper Green Sand formation of Eng- 
land is characterized by a wide diffusion of phosphoric acid in 
the shape of phosphate of lime. My attention was called to 
this some years ago, by a relation who forwarded to me avery 
large specimen of fossil wood from the Green Sand of the Isle 
of Wight, which, upon being submitted to analysis, gave me an 
enormous proportion of phosphate of lime—in fact, it was 
chiefly formed of this substance and fluorspar—though it was 
not apatite ;* and I learnt afterwards that Mr. Thomas Way 
had formerly examined several fossil polyps, sponges, etc., 
from the Green Sand, which gave a very large per-centage of 
phosphate of lime. 


* See Report of British Association, 1861, and Chemical News, 1861. 


278 The Phosphates used in Agriculture. 


This proves to us that a great’ amount of phosphates has 
been diffused through the Upper Green Sand formations, may-be 
by the accumulated excrement of myriads of fish and large rep- 
tiles which inhabited this country at the remote geological 
periods to which these formations belong. 

I have since analyzed many other sedimentary rocks and 
fossils, in order to discover whether they contained any notable 
quantity of phosphate of lime, but rarely found more than one 
or two per cent., frequently a mere trace only. However, there 
exist, doubtless, other sources of phosphate yet to be dis- 
covered. 

If we admit that the mineral phosphate Sombrerite and that 
of Monk Island be similar minerals, and have been derived, by 
some unknowngeological process, from guano; if we admit, more- 
over, that the coprolites found in Cambridge and Suffolk are, like 
those of the Coal and Lias formations, true fossil excrements, 
- mixed here and there with bone ; and, thirdly, if we admit that 
the other numerous and above-named fossils (wood, sponges, 
polyps, etc.) fossilized by phosphate of lime, be the result of — 
an impregnation of organic substances by the excrementitious — 
matter of animals now extinct, what a splendid example we 
have here of applied paleontology. For since agricultural 
chemistry began its rapid development, all these “ fossil excre- 
ments 7” have become valuable as a means of aiding us to keep 
up the fertility of our soils, to increase our wheat crops, and to 
have an abundant and cheap supply of bread. We are thus 
tempted to class all phosphates used in agriculture, including 
bones, bone-ash, etc., as derived from organized beings that 
have once flourished upon our globe. A 

But we have another source of phosphate of lime in the 
coarse variety of apatite of Estremadura, which appears to have 
had no connection with organized beings of any description, 
and cannot be considered as a fossil. The Estremadura phos- 
phate met with in commerce is the mineral apatite in the massive 
form; it is abundant in Spain, and may be in other countries 
also, but up to the present time it does not appear to be so 
plentiful as the other phosphates mentioned in this paper. 
However, it is of all known substances found in nature that 
which contains the most phosphate of lime, the per-centage of — 
which in the commercial specimens averages from 85 to 87 per 
cent., and in absolutely pure specimens as much as 92. 

The remaining phosphates used in agriculture are bones, 
bone-ash, andanimal charcoal. 'The two latter are merely burnt 
bone. Bones contain the peculiar phosphate known as “bone- — 
earth,” equivalent to about 56 per cent. of ordinary tribasic — 
phosphate of lime. When ground, they often become mixed 
with silica and other impurities. Hnormous cargoes of ox- — 


Snow Crystals. 279 


bone, either sun-dried or in the shape of bone-ash, are imported 
from South America into England. 

Bone-ash is bone burnt im contact with the air until its 
organic matter is destroyed ; it yields a quantity of bone phos- 
phate equivalent to 70 or 90 per cent. of ordinary phosphate of 
lime, according to its degree of purity. When burnt without 
contact of avr, animal charcoal is obtained ; this is used to clarify 
sugar, Juice, etc., and when spent is burnt overagain. After 
beimg thus burnt twice or thrice, it becomes comparatively use- 
less to the sugar-refiners, and is sold to manufacturers of super- 
phosphate. According to a number of analysis made of this 
substance in my laboratory, it may be said to average from 70 to 
80 per cent. of phosphate of lime. 

Such, then, are the substances which furnish our agricul- 
turists, our lucifer-match manufacturers, our colour-makers, 
etc., with their supplies of phosphate of lime. It is needless, 
perhaps, to add that agriculture absorbs by far the greatest 
portion of this phosphate, and we may be thankful that there 
exists so plentiful a supply of it. In a future paper I will con- 
_ sider our present sources of ammonia. 


SNOW CRYSTALS. 
BY E. J. LOWE, ESQ., F.R.A.S., ETC. 


W3EN we observe the snow beating against our windows, or 
being drifted into heaps by the wind, we regard it with interest, 
we admire its dazzling whiteness, and we are thankful to look 
upon its carpet, because it is a protection to tender plants from 
the injuries of severe frost. Few of us, however, are aware of 
the exquisite beauty of some of these snow crystals; very 
various in form, and sometimes exceedingly intricate, it be- 
comes impossible to do justice to a snow-storm. The difficul- 
ties to be overcome are great: a lovely star descends and 
alights upon a leaf; paper and pencil are at hand, and the mag- 
nifying-glass reveals its beauties, but before it can be sketched 
in all probability it has melted and gone. If snow falls in 
showers, and the temperature of the air is above the freezing- 
point, it is almost impossible to sketch the crystals. Once or 
twice a year the weather is sometimes favourable for these 
investigations, and such a day was February 10, 1864. Let us 
take this day as an example :— 

There had been a severe frost, the temperature falling to 
158° at the height of four feet, and to 13°1° on the grass. The 
morning was overcast, foggy, dark, and having a peculiar yellow 


280 Snow Crystals. 


smoky appearance, that is not uncommon on the advent of snow. 
At 9h. 15m. a.m. few snow crystals commenced falling; at 
10h. 30m. a.m. the temperature at four feet was 25°8°, wet bulb 
thermometer 25°3°; on the grass, 24°7°; whilst, if we turn to 
the internal temperature, we shall observe that below the 
surface— 


At two inches on drained land it was 25°8° 


Atfour ,, os A 22°3° 
At six ,, es Bs 20°8° 
At two inches on undrained land it was 22°8° 
At four ,, A be 20°5e 
Aime "5 rN = 20°8° 


The ground and air were, therefore, in such a condition that- — 
the snow would not melt. At first the snow crystals were solid, 
opaque, rounded, and confused in the interior, yet exhibiting 
the usual six-sided or bexagonal form. Amongst these crystals 
Fig. 1 a was detected, resembling six small feathers fastened 
together, and presently another, Fig. 1 5, not unlike an arrange- 
ment of fern fronds, having a central opaque star. From this 
time (10h. 15m. a.m.) the crystals were most beautiful. <A 
third, somewhat similar to the last-mentioned, yet having the 
branches transparent and six-sided; then came a solid flat 
lozenge. 

The next crystal is more 
especially worth notice, as 
it was changed artificially. 
It is represented in Fig. 2 a, 
fern-like at the tips, but 
- feathered within in the man- 
‘ner of a fir branch, quite 
opaque and snowy white; 
on breathing gently on this 
crystal it partially melted, 
and froze again as a colour- 
less transparent six-rayed — 
star, Fig. 2 6, quite simple 
in its construction. 

Fig. 1 B represents ano- 
ther star with spinose edges ; 
there was also a crystal 
somewhat similar, in the 
form ofa cuneate wheel, solid 
and opaque. 

Fig. 2 y was a leafy star, then came quite a different crystal 
from all the others, naked in its branches, but instead of being _ 
flat, it took the form of a ball, 


FIG: 4. 


Snow Crystals. 


Fig. 1 y was the most 
spects not unlike the bloom 
of a marigold. 

Fig. 2 6 was a feathery 
crystal, opaque, each branch 
hexagonal, and hollow. 

At 11h. 50m. a.m., these 
crystals became mingled with 
very thin, transparent, and 
exceedingly small needles of 
ice, Fig. 3 a. 

At noon, these needles 
fell briskly, and frequently 
two were united, mostly 
like Fig. 3 8. 

At 12h. 5m. p.m., the 
needles had either assumed 


281 


remarkable crystal, im some re- 
FIG: 2. 


the form of feathers, Fig. 3 y, or fell in bundles of feathers, Fig. 


FIG: 3. 


printhss actin ited 


3 6, and the crystals that now fell 
were much smaller, many of the 
size of Fig. 4 8, and some only 
just visible to the naked eye, like 
Fig. 4 y. Before 11h. 50m. a.m., 
none were less than Fig.4a. The 
needles of ice when they first com- 
menced falling were only equal in 
size to Fig. 4 6, but soon became 
larger. The microscopic crystal, 
Fig. 4 y, was just discernible as 
a minute circle, which, when mag- 


nified, resolved itself into a beautiful and complicated crystal. 
In contrast to the microscope crystal, Fig. 4 y, my brother 


(Capt. A. S. 


H. Lowe) 


FIG:4 


ae) 


sketched one at 11 a.m. on 
the20th of February aslarge 
as afourpenny-piece. ‘This 
is represented, in Fig. 4¢, of 
the natural size and form. 
I need not say this is a 
most unusual size, and more 
nearly approaches those de- 
scribed as seen in the polar 
regions by the arctic navi- 


\ gators. 


Returning to our pre- 
sent snow-storm, at 12h. 


G 


FIQ: 6 


10m. p.m. the crystals were less in number, there 


282 Snow Orystals. 


being now more needles, and feathers of ice in bundles, and 
amongst these were entangled one or more crystals, an example 
of which is represented in Fig. 5. a 

At 12h. 15m. small circular and conical opaque hailstones 
fell (Fig. 6 a and Fig. 6 8), which soon became very abundant, 
and were mingled with a few transparent bars of ice, Fig 6 6. 

At12h.35m. these hailstones were granulated,and had adouble 
hexagonal form (Fig.6 y), which, when pressed with a hard pencil, 
broke into fragments, each 
fragment resembling the 
hailstone, Fig. 6 £8, the 
pointed ends being in the 
 _ ger) centre of the hailstones, and _ 
ie P — 7 aR the broad ends on the cir- 

cumference. At 12h. 40m. 
p.M. the snow-storm ceased, after having given so great a 
diversity of form and size. — 

To Mr. Glaisher we are indebted for many figures of re- 
markable snow crystals, which he has published in the 
Transactions of the British Meteorological Society. To Sir John 
Herschel we are also indebted for the plate in the new edition 
of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Two plates of my own sketch- 
ing may also be found in the Magazine of Natural Philosophy, 
and recently (January 3rd) I had the gratification of observing 
hexagonal crystals of hail, an account of which will be found in 
the Transactions of the British Meteorological Society. 

Snow crystals always contain sia similar branches or sides, 
as the water crystallizes in hexagonals. These branches are 
not exactly alike, differmg~from each other as leaves on the 
same tree, yet bearing so strong a resemblance to one another, 
that if it were possible to separate the branches from a number 
of crystals, and mix them together, it would very readily be 
ascertained (through a microscope) which branches belonged 
to each crystal. , 

The severe winter of 1855 was peculiarly rich in exquisite 
snow crystals, especially on the 22nd, 23rd, and 26th of January, 
on the 3rd, 6th, and 12th of February, and on the 11th and 
22nd of March. 

It is not uncommon to see two or more crystals frozen 
together; and occasionally a shower will come on, in which 
the crystals are broken up and mutilated, remnants of crystals 
being found amongst the snow-flakes. 

The large woolly-like snow-flake which speedily covers the 
ground is not the kind of shower in which to see snow-crystals ; 
these large flakes usually fall at a temperature scarcely below 
the freezing point; as the cold increases, the size of the snow- 
flakes decrease, and usually, if snow falls from 26° to 30°, 


FIG: 6&6, 


Snow Crystals. 283 


crystals will be observed: colder than this, the deposit will 
only be as icy spiculz, or needles of ice. 

Until the scientific balloon experiments, it was generally 
thought that the snow crawled along the ground, whilst the 
hail was formed at a considerable altitude. As a contradiction 
to this, Mr. Glaisher has passed through snow-storms a mile 
above the earth. In winter, whilst in mountainous districts, 
snow-storms may be seen travelling amongst the valleys, with- 
out ascending the mountains; and although the mountains are 
more frequently covered than the valleys, it usually happens, 
from this circumstance, that whilst rain falls in the valley, the 
colder hills are receiving it in the form of snow. 

It may be that the snow in winter is very close to the 
ground, ascending higher into the air the warmer the weather 
becomes. 


284 Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT THE 
KEW OBSERVATORY. 


LATITUDE 51° 28’ 6” N., LONGITUDE 0° 18’ 47” w. 


BY G. M. WHIPPLE. 


1864. Reduced to mean of day. Temperature of Air. At 9°30 a.m, 2.30 P.w., and 5 P.M, | 
a ee respectively. 
~ x Calculated. 3 x “ 
sen is li ap Wee Belial th saves “ Rai 
py | 8/2 |2/2/|e)ss [Ea] 8] $ ee 
rs) Ie H 8 Cc) oo att oc to} 
Month. | S2| | € E qi ail Bell Shh ieee Direction of Wind. a 
ge = |e @ 5 bE SR MRSS 85 
S 5 | 5 Sy eles |S A Bi 
ee a te [aaa : 
ee baa Pe lies 
inches. ‘ i inch. a ; ‘ incl 
Jan, 1 | 29-996) 33°1| 21-7] -66|-137| 34:9 | 32-9| 2:0] 9, 4, 5| [NE by H, ENE, NE. . 
» 2 |80°521)/301) ...| ... |... | 83:2 | 24-6) 86/10, 10, 4 NNE, E, E by 8. *C 
oa) te ae sles) Seerohil Gerad ll desea ee Om aso Os ante U 
5 & | 30527 27°9| 20°7| “77| 182) 31°3 | 21:5) 9:8) 3, 4, 2 NE, NE, NE. “ 
» © | 80°314 28°4) 22°3] °80) 140} 31°8 | 25-6) 6°2/10, 6, 8 NE, ENE, NE. 20 
» 6 |80:248)19°5| ... |... | ... | 240 | 14-0) 10-010, 9,10 —,—,—. “c 
» 7 |80°202|20°8) 19:2) -94)°125) 28:2 | 12°2)/16:0| 9, 7,10 —, SW, SW by 8. “C 
» 8 |80:010) 25°6| 24-1) -95)°150} 30°2 | 15-6) 146] 7,10, 10 ‘_ NE, NE. “c 
» 9 | 29°924) 34°6) 33°6 97-211) 39:5 | 18:4) 21°1/10, 10,10) 4, NE by B, E by N. aU 
le He Seti everimeredltaer | tour sico Lei nee ‘ 
35 11 | 30°120) 40°0| 35°2) -84) °223) 47-1 | 33-2)13°9] 6, 0, O SEH, SE by E, SE ‘by H, “d 
5, 12 |80°115| 39°7) 37:0| -91)°238 41,7 | 35:6} 6:1} 7, 10,10 SE, SE, E by 8. ‘C 
» 18 | 80°317| 86°9| 37-0) 1-00) :238) 38-1 | 36-9] 1:2/10,10, 10) NE by N, N, NE by N. i 
>, 14 | 80°279) 35°8) 84°7| *96|°219| 37-2 | 84-8) 2'4/10, 10, ‘10 N, H, 8 by E. “0 
» 15 | 80-292) 32°9| 32°0| *97|°199| 34:6 | 29-2) 5:4/10, 10, 10 EH, E by N, Ef by N. se 
» 16 |30:238 35°2| 30°3| -84/ +187} 38-8 |31-4| 7-4/10, 9,10/SE by E, SE by B, Eby S.| C 
Sky | “56 See i nest nee all vee ol PANO eNO MOL sions vate ves y 
», 18 | 80-114) 41°7| 41°8) 1:00] 281) 44-4 | 37-0} 7:4/10, 10,10) ENE, E by N, NE by N. ‘0 
» 19 | 30°207) 43°9| 40°2) +88) :266} 47-0 | 39-1) 79/10, 7,10 8, SSW, 8S. =U 
», 20 | 80:287) 445] 43:1) -95)°294| 47-7 | 41-5) 6°3/10, 10, 10 S by W,8 by W, S. : 
» 21 | 29°980) 443) 40°6} °88|°270| 46:9 | 44:2) 2°7/10, 7, 2 W, SW, SSW. 0 
5, 22 | 29°812) 50°2| 47'9| -93|*347| 526 | 42-2) 10°4/10, 10,10) SSW, SW, SW by S. ‘0 
9 28 | 29°842| 47°6| 41°7) °81)°280] 50-2 | 49°3) 0:9/10, 10, 10) SW, SW by W, SW by 8. “ 
5) 24 saa seelli poll vers Hove | 40h | BAO LEd are . 
», 25 | 80-435] 40'4| 89'6| :97/'260] 48:4 | 30:9} 12°5/10, 8, 10 SW ‘by 8, SSW,"S. “0 
» 26 | 80'231| 40'6| 34°7| °81|°219| 43:9 | 37-6) 6:3] 0, 2, 1] SSW, SSW, SW by 8. 0 


» 27 |30:004! 48'3| 442) -87|-305| 51-5 | 36°3| 15-2110, 7,10] SW by W, W by 8, SW. | 0 

» 28 | 29'920| 44'7| 35°3] +72) +224) 47-3 | 41-1] 62] 4,10, 9] Wby 8, W, NW by W. | “0 

» 29 |80:424| 85°7| 25°4) -69}-157| 38-1 |35:0| 3-1] 5, 6, 2| NE, Eby N, NE by B. | -0 
2 


» 30 |30-470| 34°6| 29'4| +83] -181| 38:5 | 22°01 16-5|10, 3, SW, SSW, 8 by W ‘0 
Bi 413 |25°6115-7| |... 
Moby }| 30-184] 36°8| 33°7| -81/-220/ ... |... | 90]... A 0-9 


* To obtain the Barometric pressure at the sea-level these numbers must be inereased by ‘037 inch, 


2 HOURLY MOVEMENT OF THE WIND (IN MILES) AS RECORDED BY ROBINSON'S ANEMOMETER.—Janvany, 1864. 
QI 
Day. }1/2|3)4/5)6)] 7) 8 | 9|10]/11/12|18/14] 15|16|17| 18] 19/20 | 21| 22| 23] 24] 25 | 26] 27| 28 | 29/30/31 re 
> Hour. / 
5 12 | 27/13] 2| 8) 8 5] 1! 2 3| 7 5] 7 3l 6] 4) 11) te] 4! 6] 16] 25] 25] sol 4] 7] 3i isl a9} asl a) 2 9°6 
3 ( 1 | 29) 11} 1) 8} 8} 2] a} 2} 2 5] 6 7 3] 5] af of a3l- a} si a4} ov] a3] asi al 7] 6 15\ 20 18} 2) 2) 95 
= 2 | 28/15} 2} 9) 7 2 1) 2 7 6 6] 8} 4! 5] J 15] 15] Oo} 7 12] 29] 20\ sal 3l 6] 5] 15\ q9l ayia 1 9°5 
> 3 | 26/14) 3] 12} 6] 2} Oo] Oo} 5] 7 5) 7| 5] 9! al 17} 12] 2] 6! 12] 25] o6| a7} 4| 4} al ielielq4l 7 2) 9-7 
nS 4 | 31/12) 2} 13) 12] 2) o| 1) 6 6] 711) 3] 6| 9} 17} 14) 2] 5] 13] 26] 271 sel 4) 4) 5l 16l 20l isl 4 2) 105 
) / | 5 | 33) 5] 5] 10} 17] 1) 1) 2] 5] 7 9) 9} 4} 8] 5] 141 13] a] | ial a3] gsi a3l al 5| 7| 151 17] 10 1} 2) 100 
3 a4 6 | 30] 8| 9| 8/18} 1| 1 a sl iol 5! si sl sl 7 15 15] 5] - 2} 12) 21) 27] 31! 3] 5) 7] 18] 18] 13] 92] 8) 1o-4 
he + | 7 | 99] 6| 8] 11) 17] 2} 1) 1) 4 8] 3] 10\ 5! 6] 12] 16] 14| 6| | a2l 15| a6 27] 4! al 10 17| 15) 15) 3) 6] 10-2 
8 | 26; 6| 6] 9) 14) 1) 1] of 5; 6 5/10] 6 1} 8} 14} 9| 5] 6! 19] 12! 29! 21) 5| 3/11/11] 12] 15 6| 6) 91 

7 9 | 28] 5/13] 17/10} 1) 1] a} 4 5] 811} 5] 2! 9| 17] 15| 9] 7! 13! 11) 27] 17] 5! 7| 1ol 121 151 10 4] 2] 96 
= 10 | 34! 11] 14) 16] 9] 1) 4| 1) 4} 5] 9] si 6| al elas 2| 11) 15} 11} 29) 15] 10} 8] 15) 14] 19] 13] 10] 5! 10-7 
38 (11 | 39) 10] 13] 15] 9} 1) 3} 2f 7 7] 5} 9| bl al aol iol 3i 13l 77 8| 27| 13} 11] 6] 24) 16) 21! 11) 14] 98] 11-0 
% 12 | 24) 11] 16] 19] 12] 2| 2) 2] 6 8} 9] 6| 6| 7 7 141 10! 3] 181 15] 10| 34] 111 13 6| 7| 18! 28! 13 16] 12) 11°5 
s ( 1 | 30) 8| 15] 20] 11) 1) 3] 5} 4 9] 13| 6] 5] 6} 10 14] 10| 5] 14/ 18] 121 32] 121 12] 7| 9 1s| 221 | 4s| 19! 11-9 
‘s 2 | 30] 9) 18] 23] 15] 1/ 4) 4} 6; 6] 11] 4] 6] 6| 11) 17| 8| 2] 16] 15] 101 29! 7| 13| 6| 13] 17| 231 13] 15| ol 11-7 
S 3 | 32! 8] 20) 18] 15} 2| 2] 3| 7 7} 9| 6| 7 5! 9| 15} 9] 3l145\ 16! 9] 301 6 qo 4| 13\ 15] 93 14) 11| 8] 11:3 
5 4 | 30) 7 21; 16} 7] 2) 3 4) s| si 9| 4] 7 al 10] 191 7 al asi iol of sol 9] el al aii 17 21 8} 10} 5} 10°3 
8 |g! 5 | 23] 2) 28/13) 3) 1) 1) 210; 5) 7 3} 3] al a} 13) 3] 1| 14] 29] 11] 24) 11] | 3 si il oil al 6| 4) 94 
SI i 6 | 20] 3] 17/18] 7] o| 2| 3/13] 7 9} 3| 5! al 1a} isi 2 3i 16] 2al isi asl al el al gi ql aol 5 3} 5] 94. 
FS 7 | 19} 3/ 13/17] 6| of 2] 3i ai} 6] 10] 4| 7 2| ol 17| 4! 5/ a7| ool ml asl iel of 4 6| 16] 17; 5] 5] 3] 95 
8 8 | 16] 3] 12/14) 5] 1) 1/ 2! 10! 5! 7 al 6 al él io 2| 3} 18] 21] 12] 26] 15] 10/ 5] 3] 18] 12] 5] 5) 4] 8-4 
S 9 | 17 3} 10} 20) 3] 1) 2] 3} 9} 6 8} 3| 8} 2} 613i 1! 6| 14| 21| 19l 251 13i 9] 4) 7! oil ql 5 2} 1) 89 
S 10 | 18, 4} 7 21] 4) o} 2] 4) 9| 9) 7 3] 6| 2! siiel 4! 5] 16| 25| a3/ 141 | al giao isi isi 4| 4} ai 8-9 
S wt 17; 2| 8 14) 2) 2) 1) 4) 6] 6) 7 4) 7 1) 8! 15! 1) 8] 14] 25] 25] 26] 5] 8| gi ieiisi 9 1] 5i 1 87 
3 Baal ee Ed ease) hice “fis: = ae 
a Total 

Til 629/179)258 349/225) 34) 40} 54/159/161/179|154)125| 99/180/339|201| 80|259/4001390'640/448|174/1151218 38614301247|146/111| 9:9 

Ove= 
ment. 


LENE TERE A SLEEPER SIL AG EERE 
_ Ergatom.—In our F ebruary (1864) Number, Q 4 for Total Daily M vement on Oct read 4 5 ins D 


4 j 


286 Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT THE 
KEW OBSERVATORY. 


LATITUDE 51° 28’ 6” N., LONGITUDE 0° 18’ 47” w. 


1864. Reduced to mean of day. Temperature of Air.| At9'304.m., 2°30 P.m., and 5 P.M. 
ee | | respectively. 
- | Caleulated. | | 
Ox . . aE 3 b Se 
oo i ~ Le} 
py |fe |=) /£/ 2/28 |z,| 2] @ ~ fread 
Bet Ae | a |e le wala | os ai, 
ehh 2 ae : Mi. 
Month. B38 $ Sl ae Z r= g 2 | te Direction of Wind. 
fo lS & le | 2 ree |fel ae | Be 
or ee fee siay bac = | S| A ae 
a §)/A|/s] 2 | 8ygs S e 
2 a 3 | a | Bc |: ai 
‘ada lade alk 
inches.| ,~ inch.| inche 
Feb. 


30'205| 40'2| 35°5| -85|-225) 45-4 | 25-0 20-41 3, 6,10| 8, WSW,SWbyS. | -000 
SW byS 


” 30'146) 45°2| 43-1) -93/-294| 50-0 | 36-1/ 13-910, 10,10, SSW, SW, SW by 8. | -O10 
+ 30°021| 45°8/ 39°4) -80) °259/ 49°0 | 45:2) 3°810,10, 3| WSW, W by S, W by S. | ‘018 
ss 30°203| 36:7| 28°5| -75)-176| 41-4 |32°6| 8-8] 0, 5, 2| W, N by W, NW by N. | -O10 

N, N by W, NW by N. | -020 
2 30°135) 31:4) 28°5| -90) °176, 35°3 | 30-1) 5:2) 4, 8, b 4 


ado Ab sas frees ode ees) Seed 810-| 240). 7-0] ,,, 
29°731| 31°5| 28'3| “89|-174| 35°5 | 25-1/10-4I10, 6 
29:602 30°6 26'1) *85) 161|-36-4 | 21-6) 14°8| 6, 5 
” 10 | 29:443| 30°9| 26'3| 85-162) 381 |17-9}20-2] 9, 1 
» 11 | 29'809) 33:0, 29:0) +87/-179) 354 | 22-4 13-010, 10,10, WNW, W, WSW. _ | -000 
” 12 | 29-497) 46°5| 45-4) -96| -319| 521 | 32-0/20:1/10,10,10/ S$, SW by W, WSW. | 31 
»» 18 | 29°760| 50°0| 43-7| 81-300, 543 | 41-6|12-7/10, 10, 1| SW, SW-by W, W by S. | -039 
oe Meith ou ote 1808 Beahegl? -s: . 4 002 

;, 15 | 29°81) 46:3] 45-1) “96)-315| 50-0 | 41°6| 8:4/10, 10,10] SW by 8, SW by 8, SW. | -000 
» 16 |29°753| 43-9) 37-8] -81)-244) 49:9 |44°8] 51/10, 9, 4\SW by W, WNW, W by 8.| -019 
” 17 |30-039| 36°8| 30'2| -79|-187| 43-0 |33-1] 9:9 410,101 ‘NW, NNW: N. 
;, 18 | 30-227] 32'6| 269] -82|-166 37°7 |30-2| 7-5 6, 8, 4| N,EbyS,NEbyB. | -ogg 
> 49 |30°314| 27:8) 251) -90\-155 31°83 | 28-4] 2-9] 9, 7, 9 NE, NE, NE. ; 
> 90 | 29-965] 26-4| 20°7| -81|-132, 29:6 | 23-6] 6-0] 6,10, 9| NE,NE,NDbyE. | -Ola 

5:8 

50 


ea ae onl ga. | Sw aH 000 
9, 22 | 29°868| 29°9| 28°8| -96) 178) 33°7 | 28-7 


1 
2 
3 
4 
» 5 |30°244) 33:0 2771) -81| -167| 36:8 | 27-0| 9:8] 0, 10, 
6 
7 
8 
9 


‘010, 10, 10 NNW, — —. “000 
39 23 | 29°930) 31°1| 29°3) +94) -181| 34°4 23°7|10°7/10, 10, 3 NE, NE, NE. ‘000 
» 24 | 29°960) 83°7| 26°8) °78) +165) 37:1 | 25°1/ 12:06, 10,10) NE, ENE, NB by E. ‘000 
» 25 | 29°967| 346) 29°4) °83) 181 37°7 | 30°8| 6:9/10,10,10) ENE, EB by N, ENE, 124 


«96 | 29:942| 35-1) 38:0) 1:00| 222) 37°3 |33-4| 3-9110,10,10| NbyH,—, ENE. | -004 
97 | 29°743| 36-3, 36-4] 1-00] 233] 38°7 |34'5| 4°2110,10,10| Eby N, 2B. | -o00 
23 | ong | sin'| aeefial nee’ 40'S (860/193. * ie 036 
» 29 | 29628) 4i'3) 41°0) “99-274 44:6 385) 6-1/10, 10,10 ‘i, NE, WSW.' | -o2 
eit Kaji ll, i AS 
Means. {| 29°918 


36°4) 32°7) *87|*209| ... FE 9°7 eee vee vee 0°72 


* To obtain the Barometric pressure at the sea-level these numbers must be increased by *087 inch. — 


287 


Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


HOURLY MOVEMENT OF THE WIND (IN MILES) AS RECORDED BY ROBINSON’S ANEMOMETER.—Fesrvary, 1864. 


Day. 
Hour. 
12 1 
1 | 3 
2 
3 | 
4 
e165 
Fe 
6 
a 26 
8 
9 
10 | 14 
ll } 16 
12 "| 16 
1 | 15 
2 | 15 
: 12 
11 
le 
Ga Gerlaqa 
=| © te 
Q 18 
0/8 
11 17 
12 
Total 
Daily ( |235 
Move- 
ment. 


bo 
WoOnrowonn eo 


498,389|217 


6| 7 | 81} 9/10/11] 12) 13/14 


— 

on 

He 
OONOh MON TATO 


— 
pon 
Oe ob bt wo 


340)171 


SPwWoIDmDwiiwarOOnwWOOMWCMWOOMOMMOAON 


BPE BWA ENNOONTEOOKR WEE HWW EW 


— 
OTIMDOONNN WD HHH WHE HHOH 


et 
HOO 


15|16|17|18 


| 


20 | 21 | 22 


23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 


a 
pan 
SOrPNRYNHHEHENN OH OOH EHR OBST OO 


et et 
AINAATOTOONDIBHWONPR NBN WHY PE DH 


163|107{107|154|4011584|359\377 [347 271/297|480 351\281 57/120|341/374|258) 


ol 
> 
HDNonoonTPLog 


Be 
oo 
a 
a 09 


273/219/126 


WWNWEHNEFWODERENWNOAHMAABWHAWMDODD 


Hourly 
Means. 


105 
10°0 
101 
113 
11:0 
10°5 
108 
115 
11:9 
12:0 
139 
14:0 
145 
149 
146 
13°4 
13-7 
11:2 
gD fel 
109 


11:7 


288 


1864, 


CONTousbwbdre 


» 29 


Meteorological Observations at the Kew Observatory. 


RESULTS OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE AT THE 
KEW OBSERVATORY. 


LATITUDE 51° 28’ 6” N., LONGITUDE 0° 18’ 47” w. 


Reduced to mean of day. 


Barometer, corrected 
to Temp. 32°.* 
Temperature of Air, 


inches,| , 


Calculated. 


Dew Point, 


29823) 42°2) 40° 


29°788) 36°3, 


29°610} 36:3. 37°6| 1-00) ° 
29'549] 48:5 449] -88)° 
41°9) 1-00)" 


29°367| 40°8 


29°041| 45:0) 39°0) 81)" 
87°4 ‘96 . 
31°1) 1:00)" 
‘86 ° 
A 


29139] 38:5) 
29°119| 31-2 
29°681) 36'9 
29°55) 44-6, 
30°146) 43°3 


30-031) 47°8) 
29°871) 44:4 
30'136) 39°6 
30°086} 40°9 
29°629) 47°1 


| 29°6417| 41:0 
29669) 38:9) 
29°914) 414 
29°967| 41°6 


29:5 47) 374, 


29-285] 42'8 
29352) 389 


32°5 
37°0 
313 


40°9 
40°7 
361 
29°6 
28'5 
38'6 
37:0 
344; 
29'1 
32'8 


34°0 


33°83 
312 


» 30 | 29°562) 39°8] 849 


» ot 


et 
Means. 


(20°71 4de7 


29°655] 41:2 


411 


35'8 


Relative Humidity. 


Tension of Vapour. 


Temperature of Air. 
eerie: 
Sanz b 
Ee ap elo pe 
Be |ga/ a] Bg 
ee a2 | as 
da (8S) op ces 
BO a! 8 85 
fuslg |= | & 
sat (Ss Ay 
a 

° ° 

492 | 29-6] 19'6|10, 6, 8 


8°3/10, 10, 10 


9 
131/10, 8, 1 
162/10, 9, 5 

9 


19°9| 6, 10, 


— 


18'S) is 


At 9°30 a.m., 2.30 p.m, and 5 P.u., 


respectively, 
Rain 
read a 
10 
Direction of Wind. A.M,| 
: inches 
SE by E, SSE,SSE. | 11 
NE by N,Sby H,N. | -O1 
ENE, ENE, ENE. “00 
SW by S, 8W, S. “49 
Eby N, Eby N,E by N.| -01 
wis hele “46 
SW by 8S, WSW, WSW. | -04 
, NW, NE. 16 
N by W. N, N. +24, 
SW by S, SSW, SW. 34 
SW, SW, WSW. 06 
WSW, WNW, W. 12 
we = -00 
WSW, W, W ‘00 
SW by W, WSW, N. | -02 
NE by N, E, E by 8, ‘05 
BSE, SE, BE. 00 
B, NE by 5, B. 00 
E, ENE, BE. 00 
owe dee “00 
NH, NE by B, FE. ‘00 
NH, NE, NB by N. ‘00 
NE, NE, NE. 00 
SSH, NW by N, ENE. ‘00 
nae eae ‘00 
N, N, N by E. 00 
9 a rw 04, 
NW by W, W, W by 8. 00 
NNW, N, WNW. | ‘16 
SW, NW, W by N. “244 
SSW, SW, SW. 03: 


Pan 2644 | 


* To obtain the Barometric pressure at the sea-level these numbers must be increased by ‘037 inch, 


289 


t the Kew Observatory 


Ons a 


ical Observati 


Meteorolog 


FLOURLY MOVEMENT OF THE WIND (IN MILES) AS RECORDED BY ROBINSON'S ANEMOMETER.—Marcn, 1864. 


Day. {1/2/3/4/5]6| 7] 8| 9 [10/11/12] 18] 14 | 15 | 16] 17 | 18} 19 | 20] 21 | 22 | 23 | 24) 25 | 26 | 27 | 28] 29 | 30) 31 had 
Hour. 
12 | 3] af 6 6 3i 25! 80| 4) 6| 12] 31] 13] 8] 16] 20] 1) 8| 10; 14) 3) 13) 17] 19 
(1 | al 3i gi 4} 3} 25] 28] 4] 98} 11] 24) 17} 8] 17] 25, 0} 8] 8| 8} 6} 11) 14) 18 
2 | pl alail 2] a| 25] 22] 6] 11| 10] 21] 15| 6] 16] 25) 0} 10) 8] 6] 4| 14) 14) 16 
3 | 6 Bi 142i 2! si a3l ig} 7] 9] 8 20] 12] 7| 22) 25) 1/11) 6} 8 4| 16) 17) 19 
4 | gf si asi gf si 17] ail 11] 9] 9] 22) 12] 5] 21] 26) 3] 13} 8| 7 5) 17) 14) 21 
{| 5 | 4 a) asl 4} 6] 14] 20] 9| 12] 8} 22) 17) 8] 21] 24) 7] 13) 6) 8) 7 15) 15) 17 
346 | gl 5/17 2] 14] 15/18) 5] 9] 7 24) 14) 8] 17} 19] 5] 12) 8| 7 6} 20} 13) 20 
4}| 7 | 9g! 9] is 4] 19] 12/ 17] 7 13] 8| 28] 15] 8 18) 20) 4) 11) 8] 11] 6j 20) 10) 21 
8 | of 6 ay| 7 14 8] 25! | 14] 8| 29] 18) 11) 21| 25] 2] 14) 14) 11) 8) 19) 15) 23 
9 5| 9| a0/ 2 19) 4) 30] 5] 11) 13| 28] 15] 17] 16] 21} 7] 15] 16] 15] 10) 25] 14) 20 
LOM IG) 8 5| 17| 10] 28| 51 12] 17} 30] 19) 23] 18] 20] 14) 13] 21] 20) 15) 23) 16) 20 
i ie 8 10| 16| 21! 28| 19] 11] 21| 25] 29) 23] 23| 21) 14/ 16] 22] 16) 23) 17] 17| 22 
12 | gf 4 14] 15| 24] 32] 19] 12] 28] 35| 20] 23] 21] 19] 26] 27| 21) 15) 25) 24| 18) 22 
{1 9| 2114) 11] 15] 30/ 29] 11] 15] 27) 27] 18) 20) 23] 18) 17] 27] 23] 19| 28) 21) 19) 22 
2 1140) 2 10| 16! 30| 28! 10] 19| 21! 26] 19) 22] 18] 19] 16] 19] 25) 22| 27] 19) 20) 22 
3 | 10] 6 8| 18! 30| 22/ 5! 21| 19] 28| 18] 23] 18] 16] 17] 18] 23) 20) 27] 20) 17| 22 
4 | 9) 10 | 91| 30] 15| 9| 24! 15] 29] 13] 22] 17| 11] 19] 23] 22] 21) 26) 19) 19) 20 
{5 | 6 10, 13] 9] 25] 21/ 16| 9] 20] 12] 22] 11) 20) 14] 10] 15] 23] 24) 17] 21) 20) 18) 14 
346 | 5! gl al 6] 25] 22] 12) 15\"20] 17] 27] 10] 20) 11] 5] 10] 17) 23) 18) 21) 19) 17) 12 
| 7 | 5! g| 12] 6| 25] 18] 10] 12] 15] 18] 26] 10) 20] 16] 3) 10} 12] 17| 21) 17| 25) 17| 10 
8 | 3] gi 13] 3] 25] 23/ 6] 10| 17| 19) 27] 8) 19] 19} 2} 8} 18] 15) 14) 20) 24) 18) 18 
9 | 9] 4 15! 2] 29] 29} 3] 5] 16] 24) 23} 8] 15] 21) 1) 7] 10] 12] 11) 20) 19) 16) 10 
10 | 3] 10| 14] ‘41 26] 27/. 3i 8] 12] 26] 18] 9} 18] 22] 4 11] 10] 11] 6) 20) 20) 21) 9 
at a} io| si 3] 25] 30/5} 8! 13/ 27/ 14) 9] 15] 20) 2] 10] 9] 15] 5] 14| 21) 20) 4 
Total | 


Move- 
ment, J ee ee ee on P 


Daily { |157/152/335|140/389/513/464/196|329|385|606/349 369 446|381)224|352|366 sae 461/396/416| 70| 63|272|293/417/401)190)392} 13-7 


290 Star-Following with Table Stands. 


STAR-FOLLOWING WITH TABLE STANDS. 
BY REV. E. L, BERTHON, MA. 


Tue November number of the Inretiucrua, Osserver con- 
tained a description of a new stand for astronomical telescopes 
likely to be acceptable to amateurs. The inventor wishes now 
to publish the sequel to that arrangement, showing a simple 
way by which the heavenly bodies may be conveniently fol- 
lowed, either, 1st, by a smgle movement of the one hand, or, 
2nd, by a means entirely automatic. By referring to No. xxii. 
page 283, it will be observed that the movement in altitude 
is effected by a long screw turned by a little winch; and 
that in azimuth by a horizontal movement of the whole stand 
upon rollers. 

It will be remembered that a slab of smooth slate, which 
may be had for three or four shilings, was recommended as 
the flat surface on which this stand should work. ‘The slab 
should be about thirty inches long and eighteen inches wide, 
and instead of being fixed it should be made to revolve where 
required about a pivot. To accomplish the improved work- 
ing of this stand, two pieces of wood cut this shape 4g 
are fixed, one at each end of the slab, by means of a © 
wedge. On the side of one of these pieces—that 
on the right hand—is placed a little sheave of brass 
working ona pin. Over this passes a piece of fine 
whipcord haying a weight of three or four pounds 
upon it, and the other end made fast to the piece of 
wood on the other end of the slab. The cord is thus 
stretched across the slab in a state of tension. 

We must now recur to the stand. The annexed 
woodcut represents, in real size, a section of the hinder part of 
the board or base: @ is part of the long screw inclining up- 
wards. This screw is prolonged backwards, and between its 
two bearings b and ¢ it has a well-turned cone of boxwood, 
and terminates in a square end to receive the winch or handle 
d. The bearings b and ¢ are prolonged upwards and support 
another spindle now to be described: it is made square be- 
tween the bearings, and upon it is a flat wheel or disc of brass 
having its edge milled like that of a shilling, which is made to 
slide up and down the square spindle so as to touch the 
wooden cone at any desired part. On the same spindle behind 
the aftermost bearing is a brass sheave with several grooves of 
different diameters, e. ‘There is also one more little sheave f 
working on a pin, round which and also round one of the 
grooves of the sheave e, is passed an elastic band to maintain a 
constant pressure between the cone and disc. Finally the 


Star-Following with Table Stands. 291 


hinder bearing, c, is open like the letter u, so as to allow the 
spindle and disc to be raised clear of the cone; it is furnished 
with a little wedge which, when pushed in, lifts it up thus :— 
Now to use this stand, the disc being kept free q1§ 
from touching the cone by means of the little ,, (( 
wedge which is pushed in, the cord is passed | Prey 
completely round one of the grooves of the “ 7—™™™ 
sheave e (either over or under according to the We 
motion of the star to be observed). The stand is 
moved right or left by hand, and the altitude attained by the 
long screw. As soon as the star is found the little wedge is 
drawn back, and the disc is now pressed by the force of the 
elastic band against the cone, aided also by the weight at the 
end of the cord, and by the friction thus produced, the disc 
and cone now move together; thus the two movements in 
azimuth and altitude are simultaneously produced by turning 
the winch d; and their relative velocities are adjusted by 
sliding: the disc to a larger or smaller part of the cone as 
required. Since there are several grades to the sheave e, and 
each may be acted upon by any part of the cone, a great variety 
of relative speeds may be obtained to suit the rising, southing, 
or setting of the heavenly bodies. 

The above arrangement is found so simple and easy to work 
with, that any further degree of independence of manual action 
is unnecessary for the amateur astronomer on his own account, 
for with one gentle movement of one hand he can follow a star 
in any direction; but there are cases in which a complete 
automatic movement is desirable, as, for instance, in showing 
the planets to a number of young people one after another. 
The telescope once set may be kept with the object in the 
field for a quarter or half an hour by a very inexpensive mover, 
although hitherto such a luxury has been confined to the 
possessors of costly equatorial mountings, with equally ex- 
pensive clockwork to keep them moving. 

The prime mover to accomplish it is a plain moderator lamp, 
such as may be bought, without stand, globe, or chimney, for 
ten shillings. The wick-tube with the smaller rack and pinion 
is removed, and on the top of the little oil-pipe is soldered a 
very small gas-jet with stopcock, through which the oil may 
escape faster or slower as desired. The lamp filled with pure 
fine colza oil is attached to the slab of slate on the left-hand 
side and about a foot below it. Another pair of sheaves are 
now fitted, one to each of the blocks of wood on the slab ; 
another piece of whipcord is used; one end of it is tied to the 
rack of the lamp which rises two or three inches when the lamp 
is wound up ; it then passes over the two sheaves across the slab, 
and hangs down on the right side with another weight attached. 

VOL. V.—=-NO. IV. x 


292 . Solar Observation. 


Now to employ this combination. Let the star be found as 
before, and the velocities m azimuth and altitude relatively 
adjusted; the cord from the moderator mover is now taken 
between the finger and thumb and passed round a small pin 
on the afterpart of the board or base of the stand, or it may 
pass under a little plate of brass and be nipped by a screw. 

The lamp now takes charge of the whole affair, and slowly 
and steadily moves the stand towards the left, thus following 
the horizontal motion of the star or planet; but as the other 
jixed cord is passed round the sheave e, this movement cannot 
take place without turning it, and thus the vertical motion is 
obtaimed at the same time. - The flow of oil is regulated by the 
stopcock ; and if a greater force is required than that of the 
spring in the cylinder of the lamp, a weight of any amount can 
be placed on the top of the rack. 

N.B. When the star to be observed is on or near the 
meridian no movement in altitude is required, so the little 
wedge is pushed in, and the disc revolving free from the cone, 
the winch may be transferred to the square above of the upper 
spindle. 


SOLAR OBSERVATION.—TRANSITS OF JUPITER’S 
SATELLITES. 


BY THE REV. T. W. WHBB, M.A., F.R.A.S. 


THE most magnificent object of all human contemplation is, 
beyond a doubt, the great star to whose influence our planetary 
system has been subordinated by its Creator. Other suns, 
there is reason to believe, may be superior to it in magnitude, 
or at least intrinsic splendour, but in a remoteness which even 
the velocity of light, that reaches us in about ciate minutes 
from the sun, can only measure by intervals of whole years, 
their individual features are, and ever must remain, unknown 
to us. As it was recently remarked in a very interesting paper, 
with which our readers are familiar, ‘‘ We never see the Stars.” 
On the other hand, the distance of our own sun is such as to 
place him within reach of even our smaller instruments, and to 
bring that enormous flood of light clearly before the spectator’s 
eye ;* while the magnitude, the variety, and the strangeness of 
* A power of 180 represents the solar dise under so great an angle that its . 
entire breadth, if it were comprised in one field, would fill up the whole — 
sky from the horizon to the zenith. This may appear at first sight almost 
incredible, but it is matter of easy proof. The sun’s diameter averaging a little 
more than half a degree, 180 suns, or one sun magnified that number of times, 
would oceupy a space of upwards of 90°. This may serve to show how fallacious 
may be the judgment of our sight in the absence of any known object of com- 
parison. ; 


Solar Observation. , 293 


his phenomena, are such as to invite our most attentive inquiry. 
To this inquiry peculiar importance has been given of late 
years by the discovery of an apparent connection between the 
physical changes in the sun’s surface and the electrical condi- 
tion of the earth, as shown by magnetic variation; and a field 
has thus been opened for the most remarkable investigations. 
Such researches require, indeed, a great amount of perseverance. 
Jt was not till after twelve years of incessant attention that the 
celebrated German observer, Schwabe, succeeded in con- 
vincine’ himself of the existence of that periodicity in the 
development of spots which seems to stand in such mysterious 
balance with the electrical state of the earth, and, therefore, in 
all probability, with the conditions of vegetable and animal 
existence. His investigations were subsequently continued 
through nineteen subsequent years, and in all, for thirty years, 
as the President of the Astronomical Society said, in present- 
ing to him their gold medal, never did the sun exhibit his 
dise above the horizon of Dessau without being confronted by 
Schwabe’s imperturbable telescope, and that appears to have . 
happened about three hundred days in a year. Nor was that 
_ other important discovery of the currents by which the spots 
are so frequently caused to drift from their places achieved by 
our own observer, Carrington, without a great expenditure of 
time and patience. On the other hand, the student who is dis- 
posed to explore this region of mysteries may remember, for his 
comfort, that his inquiries will be greatly favoured by the 
number of available hours during which the object is in sight, 
as contrasted with the short time allowed for nocturnal obser- 
vations without encroaching on the natural season of rest, and 
by the additional chances thus given of intervals of clear sky, 
as well as by the frequent occurrence of very distinct vision 
through an, amount of haze which would, in the case of less lumin- 
ous bodies, be an absolute prohibition. ‘his branch, too, of astro- 
nomical study bears a favourable comparison with some others 
of the highest interest—for instance, the determination of the 
periods of binary stars—in the inexpensiveness of the necessary 
apparatus, and the facility of observation, while a great stimulus 
to its prosecution may be derived from the opinion of so great 
an authority as Carrington. Four years of patient investigation 
have led him to the conclusion that “our knowledge of the 
sun’s action is but fragmentary, and that the publication of 
speculations on the nature of his spots would be a very pre- 
carious venture.” And, in referring to the designs of Schmidt, 
he says, “he believes that no observer will examine these 
delineations without finding many characteristic features not 
satisfactorily explained by any existing theory of the origin and 
formation of the spots, and without a conviction of the neces- 


294. Solar Observation. 


sity of accumulating other equally excellent series for the future 
establishment of correct views of this mysterious phenomenon.” 
Amateurs, again, who have not the opportunity,;-or the inclina- 
tion to take up the inquiry in a regular and consecutive manner, 
may yet find it most interesting as an occasional pursuit. No- - 
thing, assuredly, is more grand than the telescopic aspect of 
that huge incandescent globe; nothing more marvellous than 
the dark eulfs which interrupt the continuity of its blaze; no- 
thing more surprising than their rapid and almost incessant 
transformation. These are wonders, indeed, with regard to 
which, as in the instance of comets, the absence of analogy 
leads us almost to despair of any adequate explanation; yet 
this does not detract from the curiosity always attendant upon 
such gigantic displays of ever-active energy; and at the pre- 
sent time the subject receives an addition of interest from the 
discussion which has been carried on among some of our first 
observers, as to the exact form and distribution of certain 
peculiarities in the luminous surface. For many reasons, there- 
fore, the subject is one with which amateurs may be desirous 
of becoming practically acquainted. 

The study is, however, not to be entered upon without due 
caution. There is no other branch of astronomy in which any 
evil result is to be apprehended for a sight of: ordinary 
strength ; but the sun cannot, of course, be contemplated 
directly through the telescope without the risk of destruction 
to the eye; and even a degree of protection which might be 
deemed adequate by an imexperienced beginner may prove 
insufficient to prevent bad consequences. It has been stated 
that want of caution in this respect was the origin of Galileo’s — 
blindness, and that Sir W. Herschel injured one eye from the — 
same cause. We cannot therefore begin our remarks more 
appropriately than by giving our readers some hints which may 
enable them to regard this ocean of flame with safety and — 
comfort. 

Few persons have such an eagle eye as to be able to fix their 
sight straight upon the noon-day sun; but there is no reason | 
to think that those who can do so are sufferers from it, though 
even in this case a lengthened gaze might not be desirable. — 
But matters are very different as it regards telescopic vision. — 
In this, there is not only a great concentration of intensity, a — 
large proportion of the rays collected by the object-glass being 
poured into the pupil of the eye ; but an enlargement of angle, — 
by which the mere luminous point representing the sun upon 
the unaided retina is expanded into a broad glaring disc. The — 
impression of excessive light alone must be expected to be | 
prejudicial to an organ not originally adapted for such excite- — 
ment ; but that of concentrated heat is probably still more — 


Solar Observation. 295 


injurious. The object-glass of a telescope is, in fact, a burn- 
ing-glass, and though its comparatively long focus, from the 
enlargement of the image, disqualifies it from producing the 
most powerful heating effect in proportion to its area, yet its 
energy in this way is not to be trifled with. A remarkable 
instance is given by Secchi of the activity of a 95% inch ob- 
ject-glass in the pure sky of Rome. Without any further 
concentration of the cone of rays than was due to the field 
lens of an eye-piece, a piece of the whitest paper exploded in 
the focus instantaneously like gunpowder, and 3 grammes 
(= 46°3 grains) of lead were melted in less than two seconds. 
Various schemes have been devised at different times to obviate 
the danger from this source. The most natural one, that of 
contracting the aperture of the telescope to very small dimen- 
sions, is not so successful as might perhaps have been expected, 
since, for reasons which involve a knowledge of mathematical 
optics, the focal image becomes less defined in proportion to 
the acuteness of the angle at which the intersection of the 
rays takes place. Herschel I., therefore, in older times, and 
Dawes in these, not to mention other observers, have pro- 
nounced in favour of using the largest available aperture; and 
the latter has remarked that the solar phenomena, “ when 
carefully scrutinized with large apertures and high powers 
under suitable atmospheric circumstances, are so wonderfully 
different in their appearance from those presented by the dimi- 
nished apertures formerly and necessarily in use, that it would 
not be very surprising if some observers, unaware of what had 
previously been seen and described, should imagine that the 
phenomena revealed by their newly acquired and powerful 
telescopes were really new discoveries.” ‘The excessive and 
perilous light and its attendant heat must therefore be all ad- 
mitted first, and neutralized afterwards, as best we can. ‘This 
could not be well done by interposing any screen of dark- 
coloured glass in front of the object-glass, simce it would be 
difficult to find a sufficiently homogeneous piece of the required 
diameter, or to work it to plane and parallel surfaces with due 
correctness.* It has commonly been introduced behind the 
eye-piece, and close to the eye, in which position its very small 
dimensions exempt it from the disadvantages which have been 
mentioned ; but even there it is not pleasant in use, as prevent- 
ing the eye from coming near enough to command the whole 


* T have somewhere met witha suggestion, but do not now recollect where, as 
to the construction of a solar telescope by employing as an object-glass a single 
lens of deep-coloured glass ; this, transmitting only rays of nearly the same re- 
frangibility, would be sufficiently achromatic, but the uncompensated spherical 
aberration would render rather a long focus desirable. The idea is ingenious, and 
might be worth a trial. 


296 Solar Observation. 


of the field. To avoid this, the late Mr. Lawson, of Bath, 
who was the possessor of a very fine 7-mch achromatic by 
Dollond, presented by him, at the close of his life, to the 
Greenwich Naval School, introduced the screen between the 
object-glass and the focus, very near the latter, m which posi- 
tion, however, it frequently was cracked by the heat. This is, 
indeed, an accident to which these glasses are often lable. 
The most experienced of solar observers, Schwabe, speaks of 
it, though in his case the screen was probably placed, as usual, — 
in the exterior brass cap ; and he remarked that the occurrence 
took place most commonly in years, such as 1833 and 18438, 
when few spots were visible. In some measure this might 
certainly be due to the lower temperature of the spots- them- 
selves—a curious fact, which has been fully established by 
Secchi; but should their relative area be considered too 
small to produce such a result, it would tend at any rate to 


show that, contrary to the opinion of Sir W. Herschel, their | 


development was concurrent with diminished energy im the 
calorific influence of the sun. 

As we have to deal with heat as well as light, it is by no 
means immaterial by what means the darkening process is 
effected. It is generally known that the rays of heat are dis- 
tinct from those of light, and being less refrangible than the 
latter, are co-incident for the most part with the red end of 
the spectrum, extending even considerably beyond its ordinary 
limits. Glass, therefore, which freely transmits rays of that 
colour, being equally permeable by the rays of heat, is pecu- 
hiarly ill adapted for a screen ; its frequent employment in the 
solar caps of the older telescopes may probably have been 
owing to the superior readiness with which it could be procured, 
of sufficient depth, transparency, and uniformity of tint; but 
its effect was distressing to the eye. Green would be far pre- 
ferable, as intercepting the heat, but it is difficult to obtain it 
of a tinge sufficiently powerful to subdue the excessive light. 
Deep yellow has also been used, but nothing seems preferable 
to a dark bluish-grey, or neutral tint, which gives a beautiful 
and comparatively cool image. Combinations of colour have 
been found very effective. Since white light is composed of 
what artists call the three primary colours—red, yellow, and — 
blue, and the two latter form green, it is obvious that a combi- — 
nation of red and green, provided the tints were carefully — 
balanced in quality and intensity, would transmit white light, — 
with very little heat, the calorific rays being intercepted by the — 
green glass; and such screens are said to be very pleasant. 


Sir J, Herschel speaks highly of cobalt blue (the colour of | 


finger-glasses) interposed between two thicknesses of green, — 


| Solar Observation. 297 


and purple and green have been used by others.* From the 
great convenience of being able to vary its intensity at pleasure, 
a thin wedge of coloured glass has been recommended, pre- 
vented from acting as a prism by a similar wedge of plain glass 
placed in contact with it the reverse way. A plain glass wedge 
between two tinted ones of red and green, each of half the 
angle of the colourless one, was used by the Astronomer Royal 
for the eclipse in 1851. Such combinations must, of course, 
be made to slide easily across the eye-hole, or be held in the 
hand during observation. ‘To attam the object of variable 
intensity, the ancient plan of smoking a piece of glass succeeds 
as well as far more expensive contrivances ; it 1s also said to 
intercept heat much more completely than its hue might have 
led us to expect; probably in consequence of the absorptive 
power of the carbon; a slip may be nicely graduated as to 
depth by a little care in smoking, but will require to be pro- 
tected from accident by another piece of clear glass placed 
over it, and kept from touching it by interposed bits of paper. © 
In the preference of tint, however, another consideration must 
be taken into account, which ought to influence our choice in 
delicate observations. There is reason to believe that some of 
the minuter solar details possess a decided colour, which would 
be acted upon more in proportion than white light, by a screen 
of such a hue as to neutralize their own. Delicate veils of a 
ruddy cast, for example, such as have been noticed by Secchi, 
might be rendered imperceptible by the non-transmission of 
their light through green glass, or even a combination imto 
which it entered; while the general clearness of the rest of 
the image would give no intimation that such a defalcation had 
taken place; and mstances are on record where the remark- 
able phenomena of a great solar eclipse have been consi- 
derably modified from this cause. It would therefore be 
advisable, when minute features are to be carefully scrutinized, 
to be prepared with glasses of various tints. 

A strong reason for caution, however, when ordinary screen- 
glasses are employed, exists in the fact that different telescopes 
seem to have different foci for heat. Mr. Reade, in one m- 
stance, found the burning effect much the strongest a little way 
short of the solar focus, so that the calorific rays diverged, 
while those of light emerged parallel from the eye-piece; and 
hence he recommended an eye-hole, like that of a Gregorian 
reflector, between the eye-lens and the screen-glass, to inter- 
cept the heat; by which means he found that an aperture of 
six inches could be used with safety. On the other hand, a 


* Tt is a curious fact that this mode of observation with two differently stained 
glasses was anticipated, before the invention of thé telescope, by Fabricius, in the 
solar eclipse of 1590. 


298 Solar Observation. . 


case has been given of one eye-piece alone, out of a set, pro- 
ducing such a focus of vehement heat just at the front of the 
screen-glass, as partially to fuse its surface in two-minutes with 
only three inches of aperture. A closer position is said to have 
saved the glass ; and we must hope, without injury to the eye. 

Other methods of subduing the heat have been adopted 
with success. The elder Herschel made use of a filtered mix- 
ture of ink and water, enclosed between parallel pieces of glass. 
The late Mr. Cooper, of Markree Castle, Ireland, found that a 
glass “drum ” containing alum-water was so effectual that he 
could employ his whole aperture of 13°3 inches,* using merely 
dark spectacles to subdue the glare; while, on the other hand, 
during the great eclipse of 1851, Lassell found that the free 
heat of only 2°55 inches, with a focus of 382°5 inches, broke the 
dark glasses “ with most alarming rapidity.” To avoid risk of 
this kind, he used the wise precaution of previously exposing 
them to artificial heat. An ingenious helioscope, in part 
suggested by Sir J. Herschel, but improved and actually con- 
structed by Colonel Porro, in Paris, deserves especial mention. 
It is a modification of the Newtonian telescope, in which metallic 
specula are replaced by those of unsilvered glass. The large 
concave mirror of course transmits all but a very small propor- 
tion of the incident light; the second reflection takes place at 
the surface of a small plane mirror, or “ flat,” as it is technically 
called, which stands at the angle of complete polarization of 
light ; while a third reflection is produced from another similar 
mirror connected with the eye-piece; or the latter may be 
furnished with a ‘ Nicol prism ;” by the rotation of either of 
which arrangements round the axis of the cone of rays, the 
light, already reduced to a very minute fraction,}+ may, as those 
who are acquainted with the mysteries of polarization will 
readily perceive, be further diminished to any required degree, 
and the employment of coloured glasses rendered needless, 
even with considerable apertures. ‘This beautiful device has 
also the merit of great comparative cheapness, but the disad- 
vantage of being nearly useless for other than solar observa- 
tions, and we have no sufficient information as to its accuracy 
of definition: 


* This great instrument, twenty-five feet in focal length, was, as far as I know, 
the largest specimen of the workmanship of the French optician, Cauchoix. Its 
purchase by the late possessor was the unintentional means of increasing the 
dimensions of the great achromatic at Poulkowa, as the Czar Nicholas, on pene 
its magnitude, was determined not to be outdone in a private observatory, an 
altered his original order for one upon a larger scale. It was employed at Markree 
re in the formation of an extensive catalogue of stars, and was recently offered 
for sale in consequence of the proprietor’s death. 

_ + This and similar values are so differently stated in different places, even by 
high authorities, that I have not specified them, ‘The question of the amount of 
light reflected at various angles of incidence seems still open to inquiry. 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. - 299 


We shall postpone to another opportunity our remarks upon 
other expedients of still greater practical value. 


TRANSITS OF JUPITER’S SATELLITES. 

As the opposition of Jupiter takes place on the 12th, the 
shadows of the satellites will be seen during the month in close 
proximity to the bodies which cast them, varying, however, of 
course, in this respect, from perspective, in proportion to the 
distance of the satellite from its primary, and changing sides at 
the time of opposition. The transits at convenient hours will 
be the following :—May Ist. Shadow of I. passes off the disc at 
Th. 8m., followed by the satellite at 11h. 24m. 4th. Shadow 
of III. enters at 9h. 3lm., III. itselfat 10h. 832m.; their depar- 
tures beng at 11h. 40m. and 12h. 15m. respectively. 5th. 
Shadow of IT. goes off at 10h. 35m.; the satellite at 10h. 54m. 
8th. Shadow of I. enters at 10h. 50m.; I. at 10h. 57m.; the 
departures being at 13h. 2m.and 13h.7m. 12th. I. enters at 
10h. 53m., 3s. after its shadow, and leaves at 13h. 9m., 2s. 
before it. If the planet were precisely in opposition, and also 
in its node (or passage across the ecliptic), at the time of a 
transit, the shadow would of course be invisible, being concealed 
by the body of the satellite. This curious coincidence can but 
seldom occur, but there will be an approximation to it on the 
present occasion, as the planet will be in opposition with less 
than 57’ of N. latitude. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 
BY W. B. TEGETMEIER. 


GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—Warch 23. 


New Fossits rrom tae Lincura Fracs.—Mr. J. W. Salter described 
two new genera of Trilobites, and a new genus of sponge recently 
discovered by Mr. Hicks in the hitherto scanty fauna of the Primor- 
dial zone. He also remarked that the fauna of the Lingula flags 
shows an approximation, in some of its genera, to Lower Silurian 
forms, and some—the Shells and a Cystidean—are of genera com- 
mon to both formations; but the Crustacea, which are the surest 
indices of the age of Paleozoic rocks, are entirely of distinct genera; 
and their evidence quite outweighs that of the other fossils. The 
Primordial zone is, moreover, in Britain separated from the Caradoc 
and Llandeilo beds by the whole of the Tremadoc group, which are, 
at least, 2000 feet thick. 

April 13. 


Tue Smiceous Springs in tHe Nevapa Terrirory.—Mr. W. P. 
Blake communicated a description of the physical features of this 


300 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


elevated semi-desert region, which is composed of a series of longi- 
tudinal mountain ranges with alternating valleys and plains. The 
most abundant rocks are those belonging to the Igneous and Meta- 
morphic groups; but Carboniferous limestone and Tertiary strata 
are also found. 

The siliceous hot springs extend for some considerable distance 
along a line of fissure in a granitic rock, parallel to the mountain 
ranges. The water of these springs deposits silica in an amor- 
phous and also in a granular form, sulphur also being deposited in 
the interstices of the siliceous deposit. These phenomena are inte- 
resting as illustrating the mode in which quartz veims are produced 
in fissures in other rocks, from the older strata to the more recent 
formations. # 

Mr. Blake also described the mineral veins of the district there 
occurring in porphyry. They yield metallic sulphurets, including those 
of silver, lead, copper, and iron, with a little native silver and gold, 
the veinstone being a friable quartz. The general direction of these 
veins is north and south, and the amount of gold yielded by them 
is more abundant near the surface than at greater depths. 


Tue Rep Rocx ar Hunsranton.—Mr. Harry Seeley read a paper 
on the geological characters of this rock, in which its physical strue- 
ture was first considered, and it was shown to be divisible into 
three beds, the uppermost of which is of a much lighter colour than 
the rest, the middle being concretionary in structure, and the lower 
sandy. These beds, with the overlying white sponge-bed, were con- 
sidered to belong to one formation, and were termed the Hunstanton 
Rock ; but the thin band of red chalk some distance above was con- 
sidered, though of similar colour, to be quite distinct,* as also was 
the Carstone below. The author considered the lower part of the 
Carstone to be of the age of the Shanklin Sands ; and as the Chalk 
is not unconformable to the Hunstanton Rock, he concluded that 
the latter could not be the Gault, but must be the Upper Greensand, 
—a conclusion which he afterwards showed was supported by the 
evidence of the fossils, and the occurrence of phosphate of lime. 

The seam of soapy clay which separates the Hunstanton Rock 
from the chalk was supposed to have resulted from the disintegra- 
tion of a portion of the former, the red colour of which the author 
endeavoured to show was due to Glauconite, 

The upper part of the red rock of Speeton was thought to be 
possibly newer than that of Hunstanton, and perhaps to represent 
the time which elapsed between the formation of the latter and that 
of the band of red chalk, 


LINNEAN SOCIETY.—March 27. 

On tHe PHENOMENA OF VARIATION AS ILLUSTRATED BY ‘THE 
Marayan Parriionma®.—Mr. Wallace read a paper on this subject, 
in which he stated that the study of the Papilionidw of the Malayan 
Archipelago was likely to illustrate the disputed subject of variation. 


* An analysis of this remarkable mineral will be found in the INTELLECTUAL 
OBSERVER, vol. iii., p. 300, 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 301 


Mr. Wallace considered that variation was by no means the simple 
fact that it has generally been regarded, but that it included the 
several phenomena of simple variability, of the existence of the 
same species in two or more forms, viz., Dimorphism or Polymor- 
phism. Also, what may be termed local forms, and the considera- 
tion of sub-species and true species. 

Simple variability, in which the offspring irregularly and, as it 
were, accidently differ from their parents, is of the same nature as 
that so characteristic of domestic animals, 

Polymorphism or dimorphism differs from simple variability in 
the fact that the variations are more or less constant or regular. 
Thus, in the Papilio Memnon the males are always uniform both 
in form and colour, being bluish black. Some of the females re- 
semble the males im shape, but are ashy-brown in colour. Others 
have wings with spoon-shaped tails, and marked with white. Hither 
of these females will produce males and females of both forms, but 
it is remarkable that intermediate forms between these two varieties 
of females never occur. 

Similar instances of polymorphism among the females occurs in 
the Papilio pammon and P. ormenus. 

These phenomena of polymorphism may be illustrated by sup- 
posing an island inhabited by white men, with black, red, and yellow 
women, and that, even after many generations, the males born were 
all white, and the females indifferently red, yellow, and black, irre- 
spective of the colours of their female parents. In many cases the 
difference between the polymorphic forms of the same animal is so 
great that they have been described as belonging to distinct species. 

The influence of local causes, such as the presence or absence of 
particular enemies, tends to produce that remarkable variation 
known by the term Mimetic Analogy. For example, the butter- 
flies of a group known as the Danaide have a'peculiar scent, which 
renders them obnoxious to birds of prey, hence they are free from 
persecution. 

If, in the course of the accidental variations to which all animals 
are subject, a Papilio resemble a Danais, even slightly, in form and 
colour, it will escape persecution more than if it had remained un- 
changed; and each succeeding generation, those Papilios most like 
the Danaide will be the most protected and the most likely to in- 
crease in numbers. This process will, therefore, gradually but cer- 
tainly produce a constantly increasing likeness or mimetic analogy, 
until at last one insect can hardly be distinguished from the other 
except by a close examination of the structural peculiarities. 


SOCIETY OF ARTS.—April 13. 


New Moeruop or Preserving Mrat.—Dr. J. Morgan read a 
paper on a new method of preserving meat. According to this 
mode, the animals to be killed have an opening made in the chest, 
through which the heart is reached. Incisions are then made into 
the arterial and venous sides of this organ, and a stream of water, 
the force of which is obtained by its flowing from an elevated cis- 


302 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


tern, is allowed to pass into the arteries, thence through the capil- 
laries, into the veins, and to escape by means of the orifice in the 
venous side of the heart ; in this manner the entire blood is washed 
out of the body, after which a solution of salt and sugar is injected 
as a preservative liquid. Similar plans were the subjects of patents 
taken out more than twenty years since, and were not found to suc- 
ceed in practice. The theoretical objections appear to be, firstly, 
that by washing the blood out of the capillaries, the nutritive power 
of the meat is very much lessened; and secondly, that the preserva- 
tive effect of the plan proposed is very doubtful. The antiseptic 
effect of salt is in great part owing to its power of abstracting 
water ; this is not possessed by brine. It was stated that the meat 
preserved by Dr. Morgan’s process was, when packed in barrels for 
ship use, headed on with a great amount of dry salt; this weuld 
have the same effect as the salt used in the ordinary plan of salting, 
and would slowly abstract the juice of the flesh, and render the 
meat as dry and innutritious as the ordinary plan. 


ROYAL INSTITUTION.—April 15. 


Recent Discovering RESPECTING THE Proprertins OF GUN-COTTON.— 
Professor Abel delivered a most interesting lecture on the prepara- 
tion and properties of gun-cotton ; the lecture included a description — 
of those recently discovered modifications, dependent on mechanical 
aggregation, which have enabled gun-cotton to be introduced with 
success in warfare, and for blasting purposes. 

After detailing the objections to gun-cotton as ordinarily manu- 
factured, objections which have hitherto precluded its use in actual 
service, Prof. Abel explained the action of nitric acid on cotton. 
He showed that it has two distinct modes of operation. If the 
nitric acid be permitted to act ata high temperature, and in an 
energetic manner, the carbon and hydrogen of the cotton may be 
completely oxidized. When, however, the action is moderate, and 
the temperature kept low, the hydrogen only is assailed, and is re- 
moved in gradations, peroxide of nitrogen being substituted for it. 
When two atoms of hydrogen are removed, and two equivalents of 
peroxide of nitrogen substituted, xyloidine is produced. When 
three atoms of each are interchanged, trinitro-cellulose, or pure 
gun-cotton is the result—100 parts of cotton losing 1°85 of hydrogen, 
and receiving 85°12 of peroxide of nitrogen. Intermediate stages 
may also be brought about, as in the preparation of that variety of 
gun-cotton used in the formation of collodion, 

The original directions of the discoverer, Schonbein, order | 
the nitric acid employed to be mixed with strong sulphuric acid, 
but from want of the requisite precautions in the manufacture, the 
product was uncertain in properties, sometimes even exploding 
spontaneously. By the precautionary measures adopted in the 
Austrian army, these uncertainties have been obviated. ‘ 

The cotton loosely spun into yarn is boiled in a weak solution of 
alkali, in order to remove more easily oxidized materials, whose pre- 
sence interferes with the action of the nitricacid. After this washing 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 303 


the cotton yarn is dried in a centrifugal drying machine, and im- 
mersed in a mixture of one part of nitric acid (specific gravity 
1°5),"and three parts of sulphuric acid. Contrary to the original 
directions of Schonbein, it is allowed to remain immersed for forty- 
eight hours, so as to secure uniformity of result. During this 
action great care is taken to prevent the temperature rising. The 
cotton is then washed in a stream of water for a period of time vary- 
ing from one to three weeks, and is subsequently dried in the open 
air; during this stage of the manufacture, some experiments have 
been tried as to the effect of steeping it in a solution of soluble 
silica prepared by dialysis, apparently with satisfactory results. 

The properties of gun-cotton as prepared by the Austrian process 
appear to be very uniform and certain. When loosely arranged it 
inflames at a temperature of about 300° Fahrenheit, burning without 
smoke, and without leaving any ash. Its rapidity of ignition is so 
ereat that it does not ignite gunpowder when laid on its surface 
and exploded. By pressing a thin edge, asthat of a stout card, on 
the centre of a tuft, one portion may be ignited without the flame 
communicating to the other. When gun-cotton is twisted into a 
yarn, its rapidity of combustion is perceptibly diminished ; by vary- 
ing the degree and tightness of the twist, the exact rate of burn- 
ing required for different purposes can be secured, from the explosive 
violence necessary to propel balls from cannon to the slow combustion 
desirable in a mining fuse. An explosive gun-cotton resolves itself 
into gases, which are themselves combustible in air, consequently 
when a flask of gun-cotton is burnt in an open glass vessel, a secon- 
dary flame is seen, caused by their combustion. 

Although the combustion of gun-cotton does not depend on 
atmospheric oxygen, its mode of burning is remarkably affected by 
the character of the gases in which itis burnt; thus in carbonic 
acid it burns with a feeble flame; in hydrogen, with one still 
feebler ; in a receiver exhausted to a vacuum of 3 inches, it burns 
with a very slow combustion without light. The conditions 
requisite to the rapid burning of gun-cotton are, that the gases 
produced by the combustion should communicate sufficient heat to 
the adjacent portions to carry on the combustion. Hence, in gases 
like hydrogen and coal-gas, whose conducting power is very great, 
the heat produced is carried away so rapidly that the cotton almost 
refuses to burn. 

By heating a twisted yarn of gun-cotton gently, a very slow 
combustion may be produced, or the same effect may be caused by 
blowing a currgnt of air on a yarn in rapid combustion. The ease 
with which different rates of these combustions may be alternated 
was very strikingly demonstrated by Prof. Abel, who, after produc- 
ing the slow rate of burning in a horizontal yarn, caused the com- 
bustion to become instantaneous by raising it to the perpendicular 
position, with the inflamed part dependent. Also, after having 
produced rapid combustion in one end of a long yarn, he changed 
it into the slow combustion by blowing the flame away from the 
unconsumed cotton, and back again to the rapid burning by blowing 
the current in the opposite direction. 


304 Notes and Memoranda. 


NOTES AND MEMORANDA. _ 


ScunPTvuRE OF THE RertNDEER PERIOD IN CENTRAL FRANCE.—Messrs, 
Lartet and Christy have laid before the French Academy an account of their 
discoveries in the grotto of Eyzies, inthe Arrondissement of Sarlat (part of ancient 
Perigord). They found bones, cinders, wrought flints, and implements of rein- 
deer horn. They likewise came upon numerous fragments of a hard schistose 
rock, and on two slabs of the same material were profile engravings giving partial 
representations of animals. They believe these to be the first examples that have 
been obtained of this kind of art as practised by the men who were contemporary 
with the reindeer in France, and other temperate regions of Europe. At Lan- 
gerie Basse they discovered another manufactory of arms and implements of 
reindeer horn, some of them ornamented with “‘ elegant sculpture, and of work- 
manship quite astonishing, when the means of execution possessed by a people 
who had no metal tools is taken into consideration. At Eyzies they likewise 
found a bone whistle similar to one from Aurignac. Some of the bone imple- 
ments from Langerie Basse were not merely engraved, but sculptured in relief. 
One represented a horse’s head, and in another instance the handle of a weapon 
was carved into the representation of an entire animal. M. Vibrage adds divers 
reasons for believing in the antiquity of the human race; and after speaking of 
the weapon handle just mentioned, states that these early sculptors likewise 
reproduced the human form in the shape of an: indecent idol, the materials for 
which seem to have been taken from the elephant.” 


CoMPANION OF Procyon.—Mr. Bird, whose success in constructing silyered 
glass telescopes has been described in a former number, states,in the Astronomical ~ 
Register, that he has succeeded with his 12-inch instrument in resolving one little 
star in the same low-power field with Procyon into two stars 9.5 and 9.8 magni- 
tude. Mr. Knott has also seen them with his fine refractor, and estimates their 
angle of position at about 200°. 


Common Onicin or Comets IV. anp V. 1863.—M. B. Valz communicates to 
the French Academy his observations on these two comets. He shows that 
“their inclinations differ only 4°, and their nodes only 7°. The angle comprised 
between the planes of their orbits is 9°, and they arrive at the point of approxi- 
mation of their orbits with equal velocities, and five days’ interval. He remarks 
that in 1846 the comet of 69 years was seen to separate slowly in two parts, and 
their inclinations, orbits, nodes, and velocities experienced little alteration. In 
like manner he thinks comets iv. and v., 1863, may have had a common origin. 


FarrBarrn on Iron Grrprrs.—The Proceedings of the Royal Society, No. 61, 
contains a paper by Mr. Fairbairn on iron girders, in which numerous experi- 
ments are adduced. ‘The conclusions arrived at are that “wrought iron girders of 
ordinary construction are not safe when submitted to violent disturbances 
equivalent to one-third of the weight that would break them. They, however, 
exhibit wonderful tenacity when subjected to the same treatment with one-fourth 
the load; and assuming, therefore, that an iron girder bridge will bear with 
this load 12,000,000 changes, it is clear that it would require 328 years, at the 
rate of 100 changes a day, before its security was affected. It would, however, 
be dangerous to risk a load of one-third the breaking weight upon bridges of 
this description, as, according to an experiment cited, the beam broke with 
313,000; or a period of eight years, at the same rate as before, would be suf- 
ficient to break it.’ Mr. Fairbairn considers, however, that the beam had been 
injured by 3,000,000 previous changes, producing a gradual deterioration. 


Variations iN Drrrrvetan Ruizorops.—Dr. Wallich has an elaborate 
paper in the Annals of Natural History, illustrated by very numerous draw- 
ings, showing varieties of structure in the tests of these creatures. His conclusion 
is that the “animal does not vary, but it modifies the architecture of its habita- 
tion, andthe mineral material of which that habitation is in a great measure con- 
structed, in obedience to local conditions, and in the manner best fitted to meet 
its requirements.” A “species” of difflugia will, therefore, only be a variety, 


Notes and. Memoranda. 305 


capable of repetition under the very circumstances that determined the peculiarity 
of its habitation. 


THE Wittow LEAVES, OF Rick GRAINS, oN THE Sun.—In that useful 
journal of intercommunication between astronomers, the Astronomical Register 
for March, is a letter from Mr. Nasmyth, containing his original paper on the 
willow leaf shaped objects on the sun, the existence of which, except as rarities, 
has been doubted by some other able observers. Mr. Nasmyth says a telescope 
of very considerable power and defining capacity is necessary. Mr. Dawes has 
seen the mottled aspect of the solar surface with a 23-inch glass, and a power of 60. 
He finds, with a 6 or 8-inch telescope, and high powers, that the surface is 
chiefly composed of luminous masses of all shapes, imperfectly separated by rows 
of darker spots. Anything like Mr. Nasmyth’s willow leaves he finds very rare, 
and only found in the vicinity of large spots in their penumbra. Mr. Nasmyth, in 
the letter alluded to, says they are scattered over the surface, and lie in all 
imaginable directions. He says he considers the penumbra to be a true secon- 
dary stratum of the luminous envelope revealed by the partial removal of the 
outer and luminous envelope. When a solar spot is mending up, he sees the 
willow leaves bridging it across. Mr. Dawes sees the spots under such circum- 
stances bridged over by luminous masses like stray straws from a plat. Since 
the subject was discussed at the Astronomical Society some weeks ago, the objects 
in question have been seen at Greenwich with the great equatorial and a smaller 
instrument, the result being the confirmation of Mr, Nasmyth’s statement, with a 
slight modification. The mottled appearance of the sun is now affirmed to be 
produced by a multitude of bodies like rice grains, rather than willow leaves. 


New AwnzsrTuetics.—Dr. Georges has addressed a note to the French 
Academy detailing various experiments. He states that purified keresolene, ob- 
tained from petroleum oil, is a good anesthetic, but requires the aid of heat. 
Brom-hydric ether he especially recommends as safer than choloroform, not 
easily inflamed, and haying an exquisite odour. 


Hzarine or CrustaczA.—M. Hensen has a paper on the anditory organ 
of the Decopods in the Zeit. fur wiss. Zoologie, xiii., 1863, an account of which 
will be found in the Archives des Sciences, No. 74. To show that these crea- 
tures are quick of hearing, he placed prawns, or shrimps, in a vessel of sea 
water, containing strychnine, which augments the reflex power of nervous centres, 
A slight noise then caused the animals to bound away. He states that different 
sounds cause different hairs, which are connected with the auditory cavity, to 
vibrate. A particular note will make one hair vibrate, while its neighbours 
remain quiet. 


Propuction oF OzonE By AcrraTIon or Arr.—M. C. Sainspiecrre informs 
the French Academy that he has ascertained that ozone is developed by the me~ 
chanical action of blowing machines and ventilators producing strong currents. 
This fact may in part account for the healthy action of winds, and should be 
viewed. in connection with Mr. H. J. Lowe’s paper in our last number. 


OsTainine Patarrs or Moriusoa.—Mr. T. W. Wonfor obligingly sends 
the following :—‘‘If you have not heard from any other source of a simpler 
method of obtaining the palates of mollusca than that mentioned in the Rey. 
EH. Rowe’s paper, I would call your attention to a plan suggested by Mr. 
Hennah. I have tried it, and found it very simple and successful. It is to boil 


the head of the mollusk in liquor potasse in a test tube, by which means all parts, - 


with the exception of the palate, are destroyed. The palate may now be taken 
out, washed in distilled water, and mounted. Those who have tried the dissec- 
tion of minute mollusca will find this a saving of time and patience. It is 
better to boil the potasse in a hot-water bath.” 


Serine VENUS As A OrEscentT.—The recorded instances of this planet having 
been seen as a crescent with the naked eye are very few, and the following extract 
from Theodore Parker’s journal adds an interesting case to the brief list :—“* When 
twelve years old I once saw the crescent form of Venus with my naked eye. It 
amazed me. Nobody else could see it; father was not at home. Nobody knew 
that the planets exhibit this form. So I hunted after a book on astronomy, and 


306 Notes and Memoranda. 


got it from the schoolmaster, and found out the fact and its reason.” ~ This 
was at Lexington, U.S. Itis probable that if persons with keen sight would 
watch their opportunities in exceptionally still and clear states of the air, the 
crescent of Venus might be more frequently seen. The minuteness of the object 
may not be so great a difficulty as the ordinary tendency of the atmosphere to 
blur definition. : 


Tue 80TH Pranet.—This little object has been named Sappho by its dis- 
coverer, Mr. Pogson, of the Madras Observatory. 


A Srrance Streican AccIDENT.—Cosmos quotes from l'Union Médicale a 
strange story of an accident, resulting in the death of a woman sixty-three years of 
age, who was under M. Guerin, at the Hépital St. Louis. The patient suffered 
from luxation of the shoulder of three months’ duration. She was placed under 
chloroform, and force steadily applied by four assistants, who worked some 
machinery (/es lacs contra-extenseur, and extensewr), the precise nature of which 
is not explained. All of a sudden a dull sound was heard, and the poor woman’s 
arm snapped off at the elbow. On examination it was found that the bones, 
muscles, and tissues possessed very little cohesion. 


Furnt IMPLEMENTS FRoM Syrrra.—The Duc de Luynes, accompanied by M. 
Louis Lartet, has obtained numerous: flint implements, accompanied by the bones 
of herbivorous animals, from the caverns on the river Lycus, in Syria. 


Frounpiry 1v Cusa.—M. Ramon de la Sagra communicates to the French 
Academy illustrations of the enormous families resulting from marriages in Cuba. 
In Trinidad, with a population of 14,463, ten couples had 13 children, one couple 
24, two 21, one 18, one 16, and two 15. In St. Espiritu, with 12,850 population, 
fifteen marriages resulted in offspring to the extent of from 13 to 26 children, 
while in Villa-Clara, with 10,511 population, twelve happy pairs had produced 
147 young ones. Many Cuban children become mothers at thirteen, and réappear 
in that character up to the age of fifty. M. de la Sagra compliments the Cuban 
ladies upon their extreme amiability, and fitness for all the duties of maternity ; 
but, we fear, inquiry would show that there is very little intelligence among them, 
and that they lead the lives of well-fed, contented animals. 


Larvat Rerropvction in Insrcrs.—Siebold and Kélliker’s Zeitschrift, for 
1863, relates a curious discovery by Professor N. Wagner of some worm-like 
insect larvee filled with smaller larvee of the same kind. Except in the remarkable 
fact that the mothers are themselves only Zarve, these instances resemble the 
asexual reproduction of the aphides, The larve were obtained from under the 
bark of elms in Kasan, and appear to belong to some species of diptera. The 
Archives des Sciences remarks, ‘That amongst the asexual plant-lice the pseudova, 
or false eggs, are found in an organ which is the homologue of the ovary in the 
sexual individuals; whilst in the apodal larvee observed by M. Wagner the pseudova 
are formed in the fatty body. This organ divides {itself into a certain number of 
lobes, which surround each one with a special membrane.” 


Ozoxn anp Anrozonn.—The Archives des Sciences for March contains an in- 
teresting account of the views of Clausius on oxygen. He considers that ordinary 
oxygen consists in atoms united two and two, and active oxygen in single, or dis- 
united atoms. The two atoms which constitute a molecule of ordinary oxygen he 
regards in opposite electric states. Referring to M. Soret’s opinions, M. Clausius 
observes that they coincide with his own, as his reasoning is not affected by the. 
supposition that ozone is formed of elementary atoms not united in pairs, which 
may combine with molecules of non-decomposed oxygen as soon as they become 
free, 


bates Sans Ecce ae 
SHURE 


A. T, Elwes, Del, 


Cases of the Caddis Worm. 


THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER, 


JUNE, 1864. 


THH CADDIS-WORM AND ITS HOUSES. 
BY ELIZABETH MARY SMEE. 


(With a Coloured Pilate.) 


Amonest the vast world of animal life which abounds in such : 


profusion in the rivers and ponds of Great Britain, there are 
few creatures perhaps which will be found more interesting for 
observation than those insects which dwell at the bottom of 
the water whilst they exist m the imperfect or larva state. 
There are some of them which are doubly curious from their 
inhabiting houses of their own construction, and in which they 
may be seen walking about at the bottom of ponds or rivers. 

At first sight it might seem highly improbable that larvas 
of any sort of insect should have the faculty of building houses 
wherein to dwell, but nevertheless it is perfectly true that 
there are some which have that power given to them, and so 
well is it employed, that often very beautiful houses are the 
results of their labour. 

The larvee which form the subject of this memoir, belong 
to insects of the same order as the dragon flies, namely, the 
Neuroptera,* and to the family Phryganeide. They are more 
commonly known as caddis-worms. 

The bodies of these so-called caddis-worms are, with the 
exception of their head, very soft; in fact, exactly resembling 
ordinary meal-worms. ‘They are possessed of six feet, whose 
uses, aS will be presently seen, are employed in more ways 
than that of merely conveying them from one locality to 
another. They have also very strong jaws or mandibles, and 
short antennze, or feelers. At the end of the last segment or 
telum: is situated two little hooks, which are curved or 
sharply pointed. These little hooks are strong, and are the 
chief weapons the larvas employ in guarding their houses for 
their own use, for by them they are enabled to fasten them- 


* In Westwood’s Introduction they are placed under the order Trichoptera.—Ep, 
VOL. V.-—NO. VY. pi 


308 The Caddis-Worm and its Houses. 


selves in their houses, and thus resist the attacks of any 
enemy who may endeavour to pull them forcibly out of their 
abodes. : 

These cases or houses, which the caddis so tenaciously 
guards, are made of different materials, depending upon 
the locality in which it lives, and also the kind of sub- 
stances it is able to procure. For instance, if the ‘caddis 
inhabits still waters, such as ponds where water plants abound, 
or gently running streams, it will often use the leaves of those 
plants, and with them most ingeniously make for itself most 
comfortable and beautiful houses. The leaves are in this case 
arranged in such a manner that it would seem that not only 
comfort but also beauty of structure is considered. It is quite 
a curious sight to see these creatures walking about at the 
bottom of the water encased in these green portable houses, to 
which are usually attached a piece of stick or a stone to pre- 
vent the caddises and their dwellings from rising to the surface. 
Sometimes half a dozen may be seen at one time, and in each 
there is a slight difference of construction, according to the 
taste and convenience of the worms. It should be perhaps 
here added, that after the house is completed the head and legs 
of the larva are the only part which is visible, the rest of the 
body being always kept encased in its domicile. But these 
green houses are not the only kinds which are found in still 
waters. Other kinds may be seen which are made of very small 
stones, almost as fine as sand, and there are others again 
which are made up entirely of sticks, their length and size 
varying much, 

In rapid streams, as cases made from leaves of water plants, 
and stones, so small as those just mentioned, would be speedily 
swept away by the current, we find that they are built of 
more solid and heavier kinds of materials. In such streams, 
if made of stones, the caddis cases are much larger and 
heavier. 

One of the most curious of all the different kinds of houses 
or cases are those which are entirely made of shells of creatures 
inhabiting the same stream as the caddis-worms. These cases 
are frequently found to be constructed of shells of the Planorbis, 
a small snail, arranged in a most grotesque manner. Frequently 
the creatures are alive in these shells employed by the caddis 
in making its house, and then when it walks about it carries 
the shelled animal, very much to the discomfort of the latter. 

Such are the most frequent kind of caddis cases which are 
found in the rivers and ponds of Great Britain. But it by no 
means follows that the caddises are incapable of making them 
from other kinds of materials than those found in the water 


The Caddis-Worm and its Houses. 809 


where they live. Indeed, they are able to employ various 
substances, although their capabilities for building are limited 
to a certain extent in regard to the material and its form. 
This was found by myself, from experiments tried with the 
creatures themselves. Having felt extremely imterested in 
watching these caddises walking about with their differently 
constructed houses at the bottom of the water, I felt an intense 
desire to find out everything about them. 

It was noticed that when the caddis was turned out of its 
case and placed im a small vessel of water containing the 
materials with which it was wished to form another, the larva 
would construct for itself a new house from those materials, 
provided they were within the limits of its capabilities. 

As soon as the caddis-worms find themselves denuded of 
their houses, they commence forthwith with the materials that 
may be given to them, and build new ones, never stopping 
until the greater part of their bodies are encased. 

Coloured glass, when broken up into small pieces, makes an 
extremely pretty case. The colours may be either sorted or 
mixed, for in either way the case is extremely pretty. With 
broken pieces of glass the caddis builds very rapidly. In 
fact, 1 generally found that cases made from that material 
were constructed more quickly than when the worm was sup- 
pled with other substances. Why this was so I do not know; 
however, glass is particularly adapted for the caddis to build 
with. Ifa case of a better sort of material than glass be 
desired, it will be found that amethyst or cairngorm will 
answer the purpose well. But although the caddises are able 
to construct from either of these sorts of stones, yet I used to 
observe that when given to them the houses were always much 
slower in their construction. 

Cornelian, agates, and onyx are all capable of being adapted 
for cases, and look exceedingly well when finished, especially 
if used separately. A coral house makes a very ovand- -looking 
abode for a caddis, but as it is heavy, care should be taken 
that the pieces be selected from the most slender and thinnest 
part of a sprig of coral. Pieces of marble broken up into 
tiny fragments can be successfully employed by the caddis. 
Shells, mother-of-pearl, when broken into small pieces, or 
small shells entire, are very quickly made into suitable dwell- 
ings by caddises. 

I have had cases made from brass shavings, and also from 
gold and silver leaf. With the two last- named materials the 


worms experienced, considerable difficulty, for they are unable 


to take up portions separately of gold and silver leaf, and they 
are obliged to roll themselves up in it.in an irregular way. 


310 The Caddis-Worm and its Houses. 


Another material capable of being made into a caddis case 
is coralline. This substance forms a very curious dwelling. 
I had some constructed from pieces of a kind of coralline 
when dead, or rather when only the skeleton remained of it. 
These pieces of this dead or skeleton coralline are blanched, 
and are put together in such a manner that the case has an 
appearance as if it had been the work of a basket maker, 
instead of that of a larva. 

But perhaps a more singular-looking case than even these 
wicker-work ones are those which are made from pieces of 
tortoiseshell, such as fragments of the teeth of a tortoiseshell 
‘comb. If these be given to a worm, it will be seen that it will 
arrange them crossways. In doing so it will make its House 
slightly resemble a hedgehog whose bristles are erected. It 
seems astonishing that there is such a variety of form in the 
appearances of these different caddis cases. For what can be 
more unlike each other than cases made from fragments of the 
teeth of a comb, and that from the pieces of skeleton coralline ? 
What also is more extraordinary, is, that the same worm which 
can build the basket-looking case can also construct the one 
resembling a hedgehog when its bristles are erected. In fact, 
if a caddis is able to make itself a case from any one of the 
substances already mentioned, it is able to build from all of 
them. For I have tried their capabilities in that way by 
giving a caddis a certain kind of material to construct its 
house, and as soon as it was completed I turned it out, and 
then give the same worm something different to work upon. 

With these new materials it would commence building 
with as much ease as it did with the former materials, although 
consisting of a totally different kind of substance from that 
which it employed in the formation of its previous case. 

Although these caddises are so wonderful in being capable 
of forming cases for themselves of such a variety of structure, 
yet it is not every substance that they are able to employ for 
building materials. They are incapable of using anything 
when existing in acertain form. Tor instance, although glass 
is an easy kind of material for a caddis to work with, yet if 
the form and surface of that glass be smooth and round, as in 
a small bead, the caddis will be totally unable to make a case 
from it. In broken glass the pieces are always somewhat 
angular, and present no difficulty to the worm. Generally, I 
may state that not only round beads, but every object which is 
rounded in form and smooth in surface, is unfit for building 
material, whilst substances with angles and curves are quite fit 
for the use of a caddis-worm. ‘There are some substances that 
exhale certain odours, which render them also quite unfit to be 
used. These scented materials are so highly noxious to the 


The OCaddis-Worm and tts Houses. 311 


worms, that they often completely stupefy the creatures, and 
sometimes even cause their death. If pieces of pine wood be 
placed in a vessel, and if a caddis be kept amongst that wood, 
in a short time it becomes stupefied, and would ultimately 
die if suffered to remain. This stupefaction is caused by the 
turpentine which is contained in such large quantities in all 
kinds of pie wood. 

Slate is another substance which caddis-worms are unable 
to employ for their building. I attribute this to a similar cause 
as that which prevents caddis from using pine wood, namely, 
the odour. In these cases, however, the substance does not 
cause any injury to the worms. ‘The same obstacles arise 
with both coal and brick. 

Although there are many kind of metals that can be em- 
ployed by caddis-worms, yet there are some from which they 
are quite unable to construct their houses, such, for instance, 
as lead and copper. I have myself repeatedly endeavoured to 
get a caddis to use these metals just named, but it was always 
in vain ; although worms would try again and again to build 
from them, they invariably failed. 

It will always be found that if any caddis is not able to 
construct itself a house from any kind of substance which 
might be given to it, no other caddis could form a house from 
the same material. Any number of caddises may be tried for 
that purpose, yet the results are always the same. 

It has before been stated that the weight of caddis cases 
depends upon the locality that is inhabited by the worms, for 
it is found that the more rapid the streams, the heavier are the 
cases. 

When a caddis is turned out of its house, the whole surface 
of its body is covered with air-bubbles. Now, if these crea- 
tures are placed under these circumstances in running water, 
they speedily rise to the surface and float, until at last they 
die from exhaustion in their struggles to regain the bottom 
of the water. 

This being then the use of the cases to the caddises, let us 
now see the manner in which they construct them. It is, 
indeed, an interesting sight to watch them during the progress 
of their building. The worms commence by placing together 
a number of pieces of the substances they wish to employ. 
These are then cemented loosely together, so as to make a 
foundation for building its subsequent structure. ‘These first 
pieces that are used as a foundation are always cast off before 
the completion of the edifice. The cement used by the caddis 
in fastening the pieces of its house together, is a secretion 
which proceeds from its mouth. With it the different pieces 
are fixed together in the most perfect manner. This cement 


312 The Caddis-Worm and its Houses. 


answers the same purpose to the caddis-worm as the mortar: 
which is used by the bricklayer in the construction of his build- 
ings. After the foundation has been formed, the caddis pro- 
ceeds by lifting up with its feet a piece of the material it is 
employing forits building. This is turned on every side, either 
in order to discover whether the piece will or will not suit, or 
else to find out which is the side that will best fit into the space 
required for it. If the piece is found to answer all the pur- 
poses required by the caddis, it is cemented into the space 
reserved for it by this secretion, which as I have stated before, 
proceeds from its mouth. If, however, the piece does not suit 
the space, that piece is instantly rejected, and another one is 
taken up by the worm in the same manner as the previous one 
was. Sometimes the caddis is obliged to take up several pieces 
before it is able to meet with one fit for the purpose. ‘This 
makes the task of building extremely tedious and laborious. 
Indeed, with the creature’s slender legs it seems marvellous 
that itis able to take up the different pieces with them, par- 
ticularly when heavy ones are selected, which is the case 
when the worms inhabit rough waters. For in those localities 
the materials are principally large stones, or else thick heavy 
bits of wood, which must render the building extremely 
laborious. ‘The building is continued by the caddis in the 
manner just described without stopping, until it has sueceeded 
in rearing a house according to its taste. When it is com- 
pletely finished, the whole body of the worm is encased in it, 
with the exception only of its head and lees, and these even are 
capable of being drawn into its building, either for its pleasure 
or for their protection at the appearance of danger. ~ 

The caddises are exceedingly fond of the houses which 
they take so much pains to build, and it is often very trou- 
blesome to deprive them of their habitations. They fasten 
themselves into the end of their houses by the means of those 
two little hooks which have already been alluded to, and by 
the aid of which they are enabled to bid defiance to any 
enemy who might try to denude them of their abodes, 
When the caddis is once hooked into its case it will often suffer 
itself to be torn into two rather than allow itself to be dragged 
out. The obstinate resistance on the part of these caddis- 
worms often offers some difficulty when it is wished that they 
should build another case. 

But it will be found that caddises will creep out of their 
cases, if slightly irritated by gently pushing a pin into the end 
of their case. By this method both case and worm will escape 
damage and injury. 

Now caddises are able to make more than one case for 
themselves when former ones are destroyed. When I tried 


The Caddis-Worm: and. its. Houses. ols 


some experiments with them, I found that five was about the 
greatest: number I ever obtamed from one caddis. The last 
one was not nearly so strongly or firmly cemented together as 
the first one. After the fifth one was made, the caddis, when 
turned out of it, would invariably bury itself under the heap of 
the materials given to it without even trying to make another 
case. It seems that the secretion used for cementig the 
parts together was entirely used up and failed to be further 
produced. But although five was found to be the greatest 
number obtained from one caddis, yet it should be stated that 
if the worms were captured as soon as they were hatched, and 
experiments tried with them, I believe they would be able to 
make more than that number. Frequently they did not suc- 
ceed in making so many as five cases. 

I have seen the small caddises, just hatched, building their 
tmy houses as early as the beginning of January; of course 
bemg then very little creatures, the materials they are only, 
able to employ must be of the smallest description, like sand, 
etc., for with larger or heavier materials they would not have 
the strength to take the particles up with their then tiny feet. 
As they grow so they must enlarge their houses, always build- 
ing until the creatures cease to grow larger; but in what way 
they expand the circumference of their dwelling I have not 
been able at present to observe. 

The time taken for a caddis to construct a case varies very 
much, With some substances a caddis takes more than double 
the amount of time and labour that it does with others, for 
with some materials they finish their work in about twenty-four 
hours, with others again it takes more than a week to doit. It 
has been already stated, that cases made from broken pieces of 
glass, jet, shells, or marble, were very much quicker in their 
construction than when the worms were supplied with either 
amethyst, or cairngorm, or coral. A shorter time is always 
taken in the early part of the season, for as the period approaches 
for the larvas to turn into the pupa state, they require a much 
longer time to build. 

If it be wished to keep caddis-worms for the purpose 
of watching these creatures constructing their cases, it will 
be found to be advisable to let each worm have a separate 
place to work in. They are so extremely quarrelsome to- 
wards each other, that if you denude several worms of their 
houses, and place them together in a vessel of water containing 
materials for them, you will find that instead of beginning to 
build they will commence a most deadly warfare with each 
other, their animosity never being appeased until some one 
stronger than the rest succeeds in killing them off. After 
this the survivor will commence his house as if nothing had 


314 The Caddis-Worm and its Houses. 


happened. The best way is to let each caddis have a small 
jar of river water for itself, and which should contain the sub- 
stance it is wished its house should be built of. The water 
should be changed daily, so as to let the caddis have always a 
fresh supply of oxygen, and also to keep the materials bright 
and clean which it employs. 

When the period arrives for these larvas to become pupas 
they gradually lose their activity, until at last they withdraw 
their head and legs entirely into their cases, and remain in a 
completely dormant state for a short time until their last trans- 
formation, when they burst open their cases, and rise to the 
surface of the water in their new and glorious forms of perfect 
fies. They dry their wings and skim along the surface of the 
water, their instinct leading them to perform their new career 
as if they had been accustomed to that state of existence all 
their lives. 

The period in which the transformation from larvas into 
flies takes place does not always fall at the same time at 
different parts of the country. In the south of England it 
generally occurs about the middle of May. . 

The colour of the flyis brown. It is possessed of four 
wings, which are equally long, and very much resemble net- 
work. Whilst at rest the wings are placed longitudinally. 
It has also long antennze. The flies always keep near the water. 
Their great enemies in all states of their existence are trout, 
with other fish, who devour them freely; the trout even eat 
cases and all of the caddis; although they greatly prefer 
them without the stones and sticks which cover the bodies, 
as then they consider them exceedingly dainty morsels, and 
in that condition they are thus found a killing bait by the 
angler. 

But caddis-worms are equally as rapacious as the trout 
themselves. They have really a tremendous appetite, taking 
into consideration their size. I have observed that if this was 
not satisfied they were never sufficiently nourished to be able 
to undergo their final transformation, but would die whilst 
existing in the pupa state. When I kept these creatures I 
used to feed them on pieces of uncooked meat, which they would 
eagerly seize from my fingers, and ravenously devour. It used 
to surprise me to see how much such small animals could 
manage to get through atameal. They will also eat a common 
house-fly, the wings, legs, and head being alone rejected as 
unfit. But meat, if that be cooked, no caddis will offer to 
touch, however hungry he may be. It is only whilst the 
caddises are in the larva state that they are so carnivorous. 
When living in the streams their food consists of the numerous 
creatures that exist there, as insects, polyps, mollusks, and. 


The Caddis-Worm and its Houses. sl 


they have even the reputation of eating the ova of trout. 
But after taking into consideration the leathery case and 
the roundnéss and smoothness of the ova, and the difficulties 
which they must present to the caddises, I am inclined to 
doubt the assertion that they cause in any way their injury. 
I have placed the ova of trout in the same vessel with caddises, 
but never knew one to be eaten, and even have known a caddis 
to incorporate ova into its case. But with the other-named 
creatures I myself have been an eye-witness of their rapacity. 
Indeed, as far as the mollusks are concerned, caddis-worms 
seem to consider them an extremely delicate food, judging 
from the amount of them they consume when they can get the 
opportunity to do so. I will here give a little anecdote to 
prove this, and also to show im what manner I discovered their 
rapacity in that way. 

I had some fresh-water mussels, belonging to the family 
Mytilacee, and called the Dreissena polymorpha. They were 
given to me rather as curiosities, and which I kept in an 
aquarium, containing, amongst other things, caddis-worms. 
After a short time I found to my mortification a great number 
of my mussels were dead, as I at first thought, although I 
was surprised that I never found any trace of the dead crea- 
tures, their shells being always open and clean. ‘This state of 
things went on for a few days, my shells, or rather their in- 
habitants, vanishing in a most mysterious and unaccountable 
manner ; until one day I saw a caddis walk deliberately up to 
one of the mussels, whose respiratory orifices were protruded 
from the partly open shell of the mussel, which was enjoying 
itself in the nice bright water of my aquarium, not dreaming 
that there was any danger so near to it. 

Well, as soon as the caddis had reached close to the mussel, 
it seized hold of the siphoned orifices, which are the respiratory 
orifices of the mussel, and then devoured the poor creature up. 
Beginning with the part that it first attacked, and continuing 
its havoc until the shell, or rather the two shells (for mussels 
are possessed of two shells), were completely emptied. Other 
caddises were also discovered demolishing others of the same 
kind of mussel, after a similar manner as that just described. 

The mussels which are mentioned here are natives’ of 
northern and eastern parts of Europe. They were first dis- 
covered in England in 1824, in the Commercial Docks, and 
have been supposed to have been brought to England amongst 
some timber. They have been carried to the River Lea, and in- 
creased plentifully in the reservoirs and even in the water- 
pipes of the New River Company in the Green Lanes. By 
their fertility they have become almost a nuisance, and I may 
confidently suggest to the New River Company the importation 


316 The Caddis-Worm and its Houses. 


of caddis-worms: into their reservoirs as a means for their 
extermination. i“ 

Now afterall that has been stated on the variety of struc- 
tures of caddis‘cases, it should be borne in mind that however 
great may seemingly appear to be the difference between the 
different cases, such as between the wicker-work house of the 
caddis and that which was made from the teeth of a tortoise- 
shell comb, yet the general design of those houses is iden- 
tically the same. For instance, if they be compared together 
it will be seen that all the cases are made of the same shape, 
namely, in that of a tube, and that the same smooth surface is 
found to exist in the interior of those houses. The only 
difference between them consists in the manner in which the 
pieces of the material are arranged, and not in the design of 
the whole. The design upon which the case is made is derived 
from instinct, which is implanted into the organization of the 
creature by nature, which leads them to construct cases of 
such a uniformity of plan as was said in an analogous case 
by Gilbert White, in his Natural History of Selborne, that 
“The God of Nature is their secret guide.’ As soon as the 
creature is hatched it commences building a house without 
experience and without knowledge, and without even requiring 
to be taught, and which is as perfect in its structure as if it 
had the most extended experience and the most correct know- 
ledge, and the same plan will also be observed in all instances. 
Instinct then does not proceed from the operations of the 
mind, but is something which is implanted into the nature 
of the creatures as a part of their organization, and which 
causes them to act upon that idea that has been implanted. 
With respect, however, to the choice of each stone, the 
caddis is guided by a particular adaptation of each piece for 
its purpose, and to that extent acts as well as man could do 
under similar circumstances. Whilst the design of the case is 
clearly instinctive, as much reason is shown in the choice of 
materials as man could exercise under the same conditions. 

In these pages I have endeavoured to point out simply the 
principal features of that wonderful instinct which is possessed 
by the larveo of that order of insects commonly known as 
caddis-worms. The facts which I have mentioned were all 
ascertained by trying’ experiments with them. Jor, as 
T have said at the commencement of this paper, the ex- 
periments were carried on solely from an intense desire to 
know what were the capabilities of these curious. creatures. 
But I feel convinced that more can be learnt of them, and ib 
is in the hope that others may be incited to the same object 
that this account has been written, which contains that which 
I myself have learnt through my own observations made upon 


The Caddis-Worm and its Houses. SLY. 


creatures obtained from the streams in our garden at Waiimg- 
ton. That it was attended with great amusement I need 
hardly add. Should any one wish to discover more about 
them, let them try experiments themselves with these creatures. 
In the month of April they will find in the rivers the caddis- 
worms in a most active state, each busily employed in building 
their differently-formed cases. 


Dzsorrprion or Prats.—Fie. 1. Case of a caddis, found in 
the river where the current is slow. It is built of small 
stones, attached to a long strip of wood, which balances 
the weight of the stones. Fig. 2. Case of a caddis found 
im rough waters. This is much heavier than the former. 
Fig. 3. Case of a caddis when the larva was turned: out of its 
former one, and was supplied with the teeth of a tortoiseshell 
comb. Fig. 4. Case as taken out of the river where the stream 
is moderate. It is formed of the shells of planorbises and. 
shells. Fig. 5. Case made of jet. It should be added the 
same larva made five cases from this same material. Fig. 6. 
Case made of the filings of brass. Fig. 7. Case made of 
sprigs of red and white coral, and will be seen to be a 
heavy one. Fig. 8. Case made from broken pieces of 
different-coloured glass. Fig. 9. Case as existing in the 
river, it consists of small stones and strips of wood, 
one of which is much longer than the other. Fig. 10. 
Case of caddis made of silver leaf. Fig. 11. Case of caddis 
when the larva was supplied with pieces of coralline. It 
will be seen that the pieces are put together in such a 
manner that the case bears a great resemblance to basket- 
work. Fig. 12. Case made when a caddis was supplied with 
pieces of amethyst. Fig. 13. Caddis case constructed of pieces 
of cairngorm. Fie. 14. Case made of willow shavings. 
Fig. 15. Case of a caddis from a gently running stream; it 
consists of small stones attached to two long sticks. Fig. 16. 
Case made when the caddis was supplied with red coral. It 
will be seen that it closely resembles the one which is made of 
the red and white coral. Fig. 17. Case made of broken pieces 
of green glass. Fig. 18. Case formed of cornelian. Fig. 19. 
Case made of broken pieces of shells. Fig. 20. Case from the 
river, which consists of small stones with one stick attached. 
Fig. 21. Case of caddis-worm as taken from the river. There 
is a cherry stone attached to one side of the case. Fig. 22. 
Case of caddis made of small stones, to which is attached a 
long strip of wood. 


318 Kew Observatory. 


KEW OBSERVATORY. jy 


Ir is not always necessary to go to a distance in order to meet 
with something new, and. there are institutions in the midst of 
us which, from the nature of their work, are comparatively un- 
known. 

Those of our readers who have rambled over the Kew 
Gardens, or have pleasing recollections of a sail up the Thames 
on a sultry summer’s evening, may perchance have observed, 
towards Richmond, a building which stands alone in the old 
Deer Park. Perhaps, also, their curiosity has been aroused 
by three obelisks, one to the north, and two to the south of 
the said building, which form a constant source of speculation 
to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. These are meridian 
marks for astronomical instruments, and the building to which 
they belong was originally the private observatory of George 
II. Here he spent many of his leisure hours in regarding the 
heavenly bodies and in other scientific pursuits, while even to 
this very day reminiscences of the old king linger about the 
place. The observatory is built on a mound, which raises 
it somewhat above the level of the park, and is surrounded on 
all sides by vaults, as an additional precaution against the 
entrance of moisture from the river. It is not now devoted to 
astronomy, but the Queen having granted it for the use of the 
British Association, it is employed by that body for purposes 
connected with physical science. 

Although called the Kew Observatory, the propriety of this 
appeilation is somewhat questionable, since it is really nearer 
Richmond than Kew; but we all know that it is not easy to 
change a name, 

A committee of the association, men of eminence in 
science, form the board of directors, and have the power to 
appoint a superintendent and staff of assistants, who by a wise 
arrangement are guided rather than trammelled by the super- 
vision of the Board. 

The past history of this institution under the British Asso- 
ciation is indelibly associated with the names of Ronald and 
Welsh. ‘The former of these, well known as an electrician, was 
one of the first to suggest the idea of an electric telegraph. 
He had also, for a considerable time, instruments of his own 
construction in operation at Kew observatory for the purpose 
of ascertaining the electricity of the air, and this branch of 
knowledge is much indebted to his inquiries. 

It is perhaps, however, in his employment of photography 
for the purpose of recording meteorological phenomena, that 
he has been of the most signal service to science. Here he was 


Kew Observatory. 319 


one of the first in the field, and if his processes have since been 
improved by Brooke, Welsh, and others, he has at least the 
credit of first poimting out the capabilities of this wonderful 
agent. His original barograph is even now in use at the 
Kew observatory, a similar instrument is in operation at Oxford, 
and another will shortly be elected at St. Petersburg. 

Mr. Ronald was succeeded in his office by Mr. John Welsh, 
whose untimely death has been much regretted, but who, not- 
withstanding his short career, left a name well known among 
magneticians aud meteorologists. He was the pioneer in those 
scientific balloon ascents, which have since been pursued in so 
indefatigable a manner by Mr. Glaisher, and from the very 
complete arrangements which he was the means of introducing 
at Kew for testing barometers and thermometers, as well as 
from his improvements in magnetical instruments, his name is 
deservedly known, and his judgment highly respected. But 
we must now hasten to inform our readers of what goes on at 
present at the observatory, and even to him whose motto is 
cut bono we hope to demonstrate the use of the institution. 

We have already stated that the Kew observatory is phy- 
sical rather than astronomical, and we may now add that the 
branches of science to which the labours of the staff have 
been hitherto most devoted are meteorology, magnetism, and 
heliography, and these have received an amount of attention 
which could not easily have been bestowed upon them by any 
private individual. Tio begin with meteorology. It was only 
when the great practical importance of this science first began 
to be perceived, that accuracy in the construction of barometers 
and thermometers was at length regarded as absolutely essen- 
tial to the progress of our knowledge. 

It is difficult for any one living in these latter days of 
accurate inquiry, who has, perhaps, only handled the delicate 
‘and exquisite instruments which are now constructed by opti- 
cians, to realize the inaccuracy and slovenliness with which the 
indispensable barometer and thermometer were constructed not 
a great many years since. We have all heard with a smile of 
Sir W. Armstrong’s village hostess, who was afraid her weather 
glass was not exactly right, for all the quicksilver had run out 
of it; but we can hardly believe that twenty years ago many 
opticians who, perhaps, esteemed the presence of mercury 
essential to the barometer, yet took little pains to measure 
accurately the length of column of that fluid. We should also 
like to know how many observers in those dark days ascer- 
tained the temperature of their mercury. 

Then again with thermometers. Was the atmospheric 
pressure always noted when the boiling point of an instrument 
was marked off by the optician, or could either optician or 


320 Kew Observatory. 


observer give a satisfactory definition of that pomt? Was 
either aware of the gradual change which takes place in a 
thermometer by age; or in graduating an instrument, was any 
allowance made for the unequal diameter of the bore at different 
parts of the same tube? These and other questions might 
well be asked; nor do we err in stating that errors in baro- 
meters of that period might often be reckoned by tenths of an 
inch, errors of thermometers by degrees. 

But day was now beginning to dawn, the public were 
gradually becoming aware of the practical importance of 
meteorology ; the laws of storms (for even storms have: laws) 
were more observed, and while Admiral Fitzroy applied himself 
to the task of foretellmg weather, the Kew committee set 
themselves to that of improving instruments; for in the peace- 
fal as well as in the warlike arts, one man furbishes the weapon 
which another man wields.: 

It was at this stage that the committee were fortunate in 
securing the valuable co-operation of the late Mr. Welsh as 
superintendent of the observatory. One of their first acts 
was to recommend a pattern for barometers to be used at sea, 
and instruments after their model have since been very exten- 
sively employed by Admiral Fitzroy in the department under 
his control. 

Another important point was to obtain at Kew the means of 
readily determining the errors of meteorological instruments, pre- 
vious to which it was essential to construct an accurate standard 
barometer, to which all others might be referred. Let not our 
readers imagine that this was an easy task, for in order to avoid 
the influence of capillarity, it was necessary that the internal 
bore of the tube to be filled with mercury should be at least 
one inch in diameter. This, after much preliminary difficulty, 
Mr. Welsh accomplished, by a method which obviated the 
trouble of boiling the mercury in the tube—in all cases a dif- 
ficult operation, but»with a tube of such a bore nearly im- 
possible. 

Having procured their standard of reference, something more 
was, however, wanting before barometers could be properly 
tested ; no doubt, by suspending instruments in the same room 
with the standard, the errors of these might be obtained, but 
only for the existing atmospheric pressure, whatever that might 
happen to be at the time of comparison. But for marine 
barometers, with no cistern adjustment, it was essential to 
know the error at various points, and clearly it would not do 
to wait for a storm in order to compare together instruments 
at a low pressure, or for exceptionably fine weather, in order 
to compare them when the pressure was high. 

Evidently the only plan was to obtain the means of pro- 


Kew Observatory. O21 


curing at will an artificial atmosphere, which was accomplished 
by the successful construction of a receiver, with plate-glass 
windows, into which an additional inch of air might be intro- 
duced, or from which three inches might be abstracted. The 
comparison might thus be made between 31 and 27 inches, 
a range which comprehends all weathers. 

In the next place, with regard to thermometers, the com- 
mittee undertook to supply all Fellows of the Royal. Society, 
and members of the British Association who chose to incur 
the necessary expenditure, with standards of their own con- 
struction, and such were likewise supphed to the leading opti- 
clans, becoming in their hands, as it were, the parents of a 
host of accurate thermometers. Nor did the labours of the 
committee end here, for besides thus indirectly supplying the 
public with a better description of imstrument, great facilities 
were afforded for the verification of all thermometers which 
might be sent to Kew. By way of variety, let us here give a 
short sketch ofthe method employed in constructing a standard 
thermometer. Our readers are well aware that in every such 
instrument there are two points which must be accurately 
determined before graduation, the first of these being the 
melting point of ice, and the second the boiling poimt of 
water. 

Let snow or pounded ice be put into a wooden box, and 
left for some time in.a room, the temperature of which is about 
32°, and further let the water which forms be allowed to drain 
off through a few small holes in the bottom of the box. Now 
introduce your thermometer tube, which had better be an old 
one, into the mixture, and when. it has remained there for some 
time, make a mark on the tube at the termination of the 
mercury. ‘This point must denote 32° if you intend making a 
Fahrenheit thermometer. 

But-if the melting point of ice be constant, not so the 
boiling point of water. Were the pressure of the air to fall.to 
29 inches, water would boil at 2103°; were it to rise to 304 
inches, the same fluid would ‘boil at 213°. The barometer 
must, therefore, be consulted when the upper point of the tube 
is marked off, and not only must the bulb, but also. the whole 
column of the instrument up to the termination of the mercury 
be immersed during the operation in boiling water, or what is 
better still in the steam which escapes from it into the air. 

When you have thus obtained your two points, say 32° 
and 212° of the capillary bore of :your tube be ‘constant 
throughout, you have only to divide the distance between 
these into 180 equal parts. But if the bore, as is always the 
case, be not uniform, you must make your degree longer when 
it is narrow, and shorter where it is wide; you, therefore, 


322 Kew Observatory. 


require to know the relative diameter of the bore at all the 
different parts of the tube. In order to obtain this informa- 
tion, a small portion of mercury, sufficient to occupy about 
half an inch of the bore, is detached from the main body of 
the fluid in the bulb by a mechanical process, and is made to 
travel down the tube from the bottom to the top, its length 
being accurately measured at every stage. Of course where 
the bore is wide the length of this detached column will be 
small, and where the bore is narrow, its length will be great. 
By this method the diameter of the bore is ascertained through- 
out, and the instrument graduated accordingly. 

The result of the labours of the Kew committee was soon 
apparent. The slovenliness with which meteorological iistru- 
ments had hitherto been constructed gave place to accuracy, 
and such are now produced by many opticians with hardly any 
perceptible error. But here let me impress upon all those who 
desire perfection not to remain content with the general repu- 
tation of the optician whom they employ, but to have their 
instruments verified at Kew, and a table of corrections pro- 
cured from that establishment. By doing so, not only is the 
instrument itself rendered practically equal to a standard, but 
the optician is kept wp to the mark by the knowledge that his 
work is scrutinized. It is now time to notice shortly the 
various scientific processes which are conducted at the obser- 
vatory. That meteorological observations are regularly made 
at Kew, our readers are well aware ; and here we may likewise 
mention the fact that Robinson’s anemometer has been im- 
proved by Bukly, the mechanic of the observatory, into an 
instrument which records continuously the direction .and 
velocity of the wind, and which is now extensively adopted. 
But perhaps the most important processes are those connected 
with photography. Light plays a very prominent part at Kew. 
By means of this agent, the changes which take place in the 
magnetism of our globe, as well as those which take place in 
the electricity, and the pressure of the atmosphere, are continu- 
ously recorded, and, besides all this, the sun is made to take 
his own likeness. 

We cannot here enter into details of construction, let us 
rather inform our readers what such instruments have already 
achieved, and what more they may be expected to accomplish. 
Of the self-recording instruments at Kew the magnetographs 
are perhaps the most important, and the records of these in the 
hands of General Sabine have already led to very interesting 
results, Our readers may be surprised to learn that nothing in 
nature is more inconstant than the magnetic needle; not only 
has it a motion depending upon the hour of the day, but it has 
likewise a change from season to season, and from year to year, 


Kew Observatory. 323 


Tt is influenced by sun and moon, but above all it is subject to 
sudden and abrupt fluctuations called disturbances, which are 
invariably accompanied by auroral displays, and by electric 
currents, which affect our telegraphic wires. The laws which 
regulate all these motions are best discovered by means of self- 
recording instruments, and besides investigating these, General 
Sabine has traced from the records at Kew, and elsewhere, 
a curious bond of connection between sun spots and magnetic 
disturbances, two phenomena very unlike each other, but which, 
nevertheless, have their epochs together. 

With regard to the nature of this singular connection we 
are yet in the dark, but we think the Kewrecords have thrown 
some light upon that other bond which links together magnetic 
disturbances, earth currents and aurora. Men of science abroad 
are now much alive to the importance of such instruments, and 
magnetographs similar to those at Kew are already in operation 
at Lisbon, and will shorily be so in America and Java, in 
Coimbra, St. Petersburg, and Florence. In illustration of the 
value of these when all are at work together, we may state that by 
comparing the Lisbon records with those at Kew, it has already 
been found that magnetic disturbances break out at precisely 
the same moment of time in both those places. 

We shall now shortly allude to the barograph, another of 
the self-recording instruments at Kew. By it the changes in 
the barometer are continuously recorded. Similar instruments 
are in operation at Oxford and Greenwich, and by means of 
these it has been found that during sudden squalls the crisis 
of a storm takes place at Oxford about 50 minutes sooner than 
at Kew, and at Kew somewhat sooner than at Greenwich. 
When such instruments are more widely spread, a great in- 
crease in our knowledge of storms may surely be expected. 

The Kew photoheliograph is already familiar to most of us as 
the instrument by means of which Mr. Warren Delarue succeeded 
in obtaining photographs of the sun during the total eclipse 
which took place in Spain on July 18, 1860, and by which he 
proved the connection with our luminary of those mysterious red 
protuberances which are visible on such oécasions.. The in- 
strument has sce been mounted at Kew under the superin- 
tendence of this distinguished astronomer, and much curious 
information with regard to sun spots may be anticipated. 

In addition to all this work, monthly observations of the 
magnetic needle are made in a small building detached from 
the observatory, soas to be beyond the influence of iron, and 
scientific men proceeding abroad, with the view of observing 
the needle at various places, have an opportunity of getting their 
instruments tested at Kew, and of their receiving instruction in 
the science of magnetism. By this means we are not only 

VOL. V.—NO. V. Z 


ood Lhe Harth as seen from the Moon. 


brought nearer day by day to that great scientific consummation, 
a theory of terrestial magnetism, but the practical- importance 
of knowing accurately the behaviour of the needle at the 
different parts of our globe is patent to every one. 

The Kew committee have hkewise lately imtroduced an 
arrangement by means of which sextants, quadrants, and 
other geographical instruments may be verified, but we for- 
bear to enter further into this interesting subject at present. 

While we have thus imperfectly described the chief pro- 
cesses at Kew we have not even yet exhausted the work of 
the observatory. As it 1s an institution for the determina- 
tion of various points in physical science, new problems of 
importance are taken up as they present themselves. We 
have elsewhere noted the fact that Mr. Gassiot’s magnificent 
spectroscope is at Kew, and we shall now conclude by ex- 
pressing our belief that it will not be allowed to remain idle 
during the fine summer weather which we hope is near. 


THE EARTH AS SEEN FROM THE MOON. 


M. Cami Fiammarton gives the following account of the 
appearance the earth must present to the inhabitants of the 
moon :— 

“The inhabitants of the moon perceive in their sky a 
gigantic star, constantly immoveable at the same height. To 
their eyes this globe is twelve times as large as the sun, but it 
differs from all the stars in being always suspended in the 
same place over their heads. It presents phases to them as 
the moon does to us, passing through all the gradations of 
new and full earth. ‘This star, as we have just said, is the 
earth that we inhabit. : 

“ Those who dwell in the centre of the lunar disc behold 
our globe suspended from their zenith hovering eternally im 
the midst of the starry skies. Others see it at 70 degrees of 
elevation, others at 45 degrees, as they inhabit spots more or 
less removed from the centre of the visible hemisphere. Those 
who live near the borders of this hemisphere see our globe 
on their horizon resting on the mountains. A little further on 
only half the earth is discernible, and in passing to another 
hemisphere the view vanishes for ever. 

“Tf we except the determination of longitudes, the earth 
is more beautiful and more useful to the moon than the moon 
is to the earth, and if the Selenites* rolling beneath us inter- 
pret the law of final causes with as much partiality as we do, 


* Selenites, from selene (Z¢A4v7n), the moon, inhabitants of that orb. 


The Harth as seen from the Moon. 329 


they will have a right apparently superior to our own for re- 
garding creation, the earth included, as especially made for the 
Selenian race. — 

“ The earth is a gigantic globe, sending them thirteen times 
more light than the full moon transmits to us. It revolves on 
its axis in twenty-four hours, and during this period exhibits 
all portions of its surface, being thus more generous than the 
moon, which always conceals one hemisphere from our view. 
In consequence of this motion, the Selenite finds himself in an 
observatory magnificently situated for viewing the terrestrial 
disc, and his position is preferable to that of the inhabitants 
of the first four moons of Saturn, who can never see the whole 
of that planet, and they can see the earth better than we see 
any planet. 

“The earth generally presents to them a greenish hue, in 
consequence of the immense quantity of water by which its» 
surface is covered, of the forests of the new world, and of its 
plains, and also on account of the tint of its atmosphere. 
From time to time, however, large grey or yellow spots divide 
the sphere. To the east of the terrestrial disc appear the 
lofty Cordilleras, marked by a long indented line, just as we 
see in the lunar Carpathians to the west of the Sea of Storms. 
Opposite this ridge, a shady green spot of great extent 
unfolds itself for many hours—this is the great ocean. Next 
come two grey patches, which look like one, elongated; these 
are the two isles of New Zealand. Then appears the fine con- 
tinent of Australia, tinted with a thousand colours, and accom- 
panied by New Guinea, Borneo, Java, and the Philippines. 
At the same time the grey country of Asia is unrolled, and 
extends to the white steppes of the pole. Africa then comes 
in view, divided by its milky way of sand. ‘To the north of 
the great Sahara, appears a little green spot torn in all 
directions, and full of ramifications—this is the Mediterranean ; 
above which those who have good eyesight will discern little, and 
almost invisible, France. Then the dry land will disappear, and 
the great dark spot of the Atlantic will follow the same re- 
volving course. ‘The Selenites who carelessly contemplate in 
tranquil nights the green and grey divisions of the earth, will 
have no idea of the contests in which the distant nationalities 
are involved. ; 

“The earth is a permanent clock to the inhabitants of the 
moon, and this is not its least utility. By reason of its in- 
variable movements the fixed points which mark the different 
longitudes will be the hours on the meridian of the moon. 
Hach country of the globe has its peculiar aspect, and may 
serve for a point of departure..... 

“The phases the earth presents to the moon will, in the 


326 The Earth as seen from the Moon. 


same manner, serve as an almanack, and we may believe they 
form its chief foundation. These phases are complementary to 
those which the moon presents to us: when it is full moon 
for us, it is new earth for the Selenites ; and when they give 
us a new moon, we offer them a full earth. No reciprocity can 
be more perfect and constant. 

“But the phases of the earth differ essentially from those 
of the moon, inasmuch as their intensity, not their magnitude, 
changes perpetually. This phenomenon is very terrestrial, 
and we may be sure the Selenites have judged us by it long 
ago. Whilst with them all is calm, identical, constant, with 
us everything changes. Besides the different lustre of dif- 
ferent parts of the terrestrial sphere, green continents, blue 
seas, yellow deserts, white poles, and grey lands, our atmo- 
sphere is in perpetual commotion. One day it is covered with 
clouds, and transmits to the moon a uniform white light, the 
slay after it is of limpid transparency, and allows the solar 
ight to fall upon absorbent green surfaces. All of a sudden 
it will be varied with flocculent mountains, and varied mosaics. 
Thus the light the Selenites receive from the earth, the light 
which we call ‘ ashy,’ and which we only perceive in the moon’s 
early days, varies continually in intensity. 

“This mobility, this perpetual variation in the aspect o 
the earth, will have made the Nelenites believe that the earth is 
uninhabited. But on what grounds would they form opinions 
unfavourable to its habitability ? hey live on a solid and stable 
sphere, and can see nothing like it on the earth. Can any 
rational creature live upon that permanent atmospheric layer 
which covers all the earth ? A Selenite who fell into it would 
be drowned, Can it be on that sheet of green that washes the 
greater portion of the earth? Can it be on those clouds that 
appear and disappear a hundred times a day? And then the 
earth turns with such velocity; it is subject to so much ele- 
mental instability! Moreover, can we believe that its in- 
habitants are people without weight, preserving, no one knows 
how, a mean position between the fixed and mobile elements ? 
How can such existences be believed ?” 

Having thus sketched out the probable effect of the earth 
upon the Selenites who see it rolling over them, M. Flam- 
marion considers the position of those who live on that lunar 
hemisphere which we never see, and which never sees us. He 
distinguishes the Selenites as Subvolvians and Privolvians,* and 
points out the totally different kind of beings that may inhabit 


* These not very judicious names designate the inhabitants of the two lunar 
hemispheres, one seeing our globe over their heads, and the other not seeing us 
at all. In reality it is not a whole hemisphere ; but #ths of the moon that is per- 
manently hid from us, ’ : 


The Harth as seen from the Moon. 327 


the two hemispheres, if, as is possible, the one we do not see, 
possesses water andair. After some other remarks he observes, 
that the astronomy of the Selenites must appear so compli- 
cated as to require the greatest penetration for its true ex- 
planation. “They behold themselves motionless in the centre 
of. the universe, they see the sun perform its circuit in 294 
days, and the stars in 273 days. Those who see the earth 
will perceive that although it appears almost immoveable in 
the same part of space, 1b goes round the sky in 29 days. 
They would ascribe these movements to the sky and to the 
earth. As for thinking that they moved, and that this earth 
was the centre of their movements, and that the sun was the 
centre of those of the earth and planets; this is a notion to 
which it would be extremely difficult for them to attain. 
Celestial appearances are not so complicated as seen from any 
star as from the satellites.” 

“« Less favoured than the Subvolvian Selenites, who in their 
transition from day to night pass only from an intense to a 
feeble light, the Privolvians have a complete night of fifteen 
days. It follows from experiments of Bouguer, M. Lambert, 
and even from the theory of Robert Smith, that the mean 
relation of solar to lunar light is as 300,000 to 1; the mean 
relation between sun light and. full earth light for the Selenites 
would be as 23,000 to 1. Those who inhabit the opposite 
hemisphere will have no illumination during their night. But 
perhaps under their unknown atmosphere they light up arti- 
ficial suns for half the year; perhaps nature furnishes them 
with a special illumination, like the Auroras that illuminate 
our polar regions; perhaps their eyes are constructed for 
nocturnal life ; perhaps they sleep like marmots during their 
dark winter of half a month. ‘These are all may bes; but we 
cannot doubt that nature has established the Selenites com- 
fortably in their homes ; and if one of them came here for the 
winter he would be astonished with the enormous terrestrial 
globe that gives us a profusion of day and night, and, like a great 
child, makes us play at hide and seek all our lives.”—Cosmos. 


328 Recent Microscopie Literature. 


RECENT MICROSCOPIC LITERATURE.* 


In the last annual address of the President of the Microscopi- 
eal Society of London, Mr. Brooke stated, “that no foreign 
microscope that was exhibited (at the International Exhibition) 
was at all comparable, either in the convenience of its mechani- 
cal or the perfection of its optical arrangements, with the instru- 
ments of our best makers.”” This has been the case pretty 
uniformly since the application of the achromatic principle to 
the construction of the microscope ; but it is only recently that 
our opticians have successfully competed with the French in the 
useful task of giving a serviceable, though second or third-rate 
instrument, at alow price. At present, it would appear that if 
optical and mechanical excellence, both carried to the highest 
degree of perfection, be sought for, they will be found in the 
workshops of our own great makers; while no foreign artist whose 
productions we have seen appears to give so much for a little 
money as can be obtained in the educational and student’s 
microscopes of Smith and Beck, Pillischer, Baker, Parkes, and 
many others whose names are familiar to all who have paid 
attention to this branch of manufacturing industry and scien- 
tific skill. Almost the only feature in foreign instruments 
which Mr, Brooke commends to the attention of English makers 
is the correction of certain objectives for immersion in water, a 
form of construction in which M. Hartnack, who exhibited in 
the French Department, excels. Mr. Brooke thus remarks 
upon these glasses:—‘‘ A plate of water should_-intervene 
between the objective and the covering-glass of the object. 
From the increased facility of transmission of the oblique 
rays through a plate of water, the quantity of light under , 
any given condition of illumination is obviously increased.” 
He adds, “ With a jth objective of moderate angular aper- 
ture, which is corrected for immersion in water, I have, 
L think, in some instances obtained better definition than 
by any other means.” From these remarks it will be seen 
that the film of water makes a small angled glass work like 
a larger one, and although there may be some rare occasions 
in which the plan deserves a preference, it cannot be 80 gene-: 
rally useful or advisable as that which our opticians have so 
successfully carried out. 

Mr. Brooke expresses himself strorgly, as Dr. Carpenter 
did long ago, on the question of angular aperture, which, he 


* L’Etudiant Micrographe. Par Arthur Chevallier. Paris: Delahaye. 
On Preparing and Mounting Microscopic Objects, By Thomas Davies. Hard- 
wicke. 

Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. No. xiv. Churchill. 


Recent Microscopie Interature. 329 


affirms, cannot be pushed to extremes without sacrifice of 
penetration. We believe Mr. Lister has worked out this sub- 
ject more completely than any one else, and we think we are 
right in saying that, omitting mere surface markings of the 
most troublesome diatoms, rules could be laid down showing 
the most advantageous proportions in which angular aperture 
and focal distance should stand to each other to ensure the 
greatest accuracy of definition. This subject is of great prac- 
tical importance, and we regret that Mr. Brooke’s anniversary 
address was not more explicit in dealing with it. 

The best mode of obtaining great amplification depends in 
no small degree upon the angle of aperture question. Sup- 
pose, for example, a power of 1500 or 3000 linear is required 
for the exhibition of minute structure. How isit best obtained ? 
Mr. Brooke gives a preference to lengthening the body of the 
instrument, over the employment of very deep eye-pieces; but 
upon the subject of deep objectives his statements do not 
coincide. In his notes on the microscopes of the Exhibition, 
he tells us that “no objective yet manufactured for sale at all 
rivals in its power of development the 3th of Messrs. Powell 
and Lealand,” and in the presidential address we find the con- 
tradictory assertion that he “has not hitherto succeeded in 
developing any point of organic structure with Powell’s 3th 
that is not equally visible with jth by Ross.” If +th of Ross 
and th of Poweli.and Lealand were selected as of equal merit 
in workmanship, it would still be found that they differed con- 
siderably in the proportion which their angles of aperture bore 
to their focallengths ; and itis difficult to believe that the two 
proportions are equally advantageous. Messrs. Powell and 
Lealand’s exquisite th is much more limited in its range of 
utility than their 4th, because the latter will work through 
thick covering glass, while the former requires it to be so 
extremely thin as scar cely to bear a touch. Messrs. Smith 
and Beck’s zth, which has a moderate angle of aperture, is as 
generally applicable as a 3th or a 3th; and this constitutes no 
small proportion of its merit. ‘Mr. Ross’ S ;th, as stated in his 
catalogue, has an angular aperture of 170°. Working angles of 
aperture are nearly always much less than. those calculated by 
opticians; but suppose Mr. Ross made a zth of the same 
working angle, or less than that of his 4th, it does not seem 
possible that when used to obtain the same amplification, they 
should both be equally advantageous in point of penetration. 
We have tried and admired Ross’s jth, and that of Powell and 
Lealand; but when it is desired to see the interior structure 
and movements of small objects, such as desmids or infusoria, 
it cannot be a matter of indifference whether a given magni- 
fication is obtained by a deep objective of moderate angle, 


330 Recent Microscopic Interature. 


without the draw-tube, and with a first eye-piece, or with a 
lower objective of actually larger angle, with a deeper eye- 
piece, or with a few inches of draw-tube. 

We have heard an experienced microscopist speak as Mr. 
Brooke does in one of his conflicting remarks, that he couid 
see all with his 4th that he could see with his <th; but it 
appears to us that this question wants carefully working out 
with especial regard to penetrating power. When an object— 
other than diatom lines—has been seen with a {th or jth, can 
it not nearly always be shown by 3th? A good 3th will work 
well up 700 or 800 or 1000 linear, and most things that can 
be seen with.2000 lmear can be made out with half that power 
when their existence is known. 

We are abandoning excessive angles of aperture in this 
country, and the Americans are resorting to them. This will 
give rise to inquiry as to the value of their observations, 
and when such observations necessarily require penetration, 
accompanied by fine definition, we should be disposed to doubt 
the correctness of the appearances brought out by objectives in 
which the angle of aperture-was very large in proportion to 
focal length. 

So long as microscopic students are merely engaged in lay- 
ing the foundation for original inquiry it may be doubted 
whether they will do any good with a magnification of more 
than 500 linear, but when original inquiry begins, high powers 
become indispensable, and the best mode of obtaining them 
is an important consideration, on which we should recommend 
new and careful experiments to be made. 

Passing from points which experienced microscopists are 
alone qualified to discuss, we come to subjects of more general 
interest, and congratulate Mr. Davies on the aid he has afforded 
to microscopic students by his compact work on preparing and 
mounting microscopic objects. His book is necessarily and 
avowedly in the main a compilation, but the reader has also 
the advantage of the author’s personal experience, and will 
derive much information, not only with respect to different 
methods of mounting, but likewise concerning the treatment 
which particular objects require. ‘The instruction ranges over 
a wide field, comprehending diatoms, desmids, sections of 
organic and mineral substances, anatomical preparations, dis- 
sections, etc., and the directions are given in a clear, agreeable 
style. 

In mounting objects it is customary to use Canada balsam 
thinned with spirits of turpentine or camphine ; but it is often 
desirable to obtain the resinous matter in a more liquid and 
volatile solution. One good plan is to dissolve thick balsam 
in wood naphtha, or pyroligneous ether, which is by far the best 


Recent Microscopic Interature. 301 


solvent for cleaning slides. Another plan is to use chloroform, 
as Mr. Davies thus describes :—“‘ The balsam is exposed to 
heat until on cooling it assumes a glassy appearance ; it is then 
dissolved in pure chloroform until it becomes of the consistence 
of thick varnish. This liquid is very convenient in some 
cases, as air bubbles are much more easily got rid of than when 
undiluted Canada balsam is used. Ii also dries readily.” 

We shall make one more extract from Mr. Davies, relating 
to the treatment of the Hquisetaceze, which are now growing 
in easily accessible places. He is speaking of their preparation 
for the polariscope, and tells us, ‘Some of these plants, in- 
cluding many of the grasses and Hquisetaceee (i.e., horsetails), 
contain so large a quantity of silica, that when the vegetable 
and other perishable parts are removed, a skeleton of wonderful 
perfection remains. This skeleton must be mounted in balsam, 
the method of preparing which will now be considered.” 

** Sometimes the outside of the Hquisetum is removed from 
the plant, others dry the stem under pressure, whilst the 
grasses of course require no preparation. The vegetable 
should be immersed in strong nitric acid, and boiled for a 
short time ; an effervescence will go on as the alkalies are being 
removed, and when this has ceased more acid should be added. 
At this point the modes of treatment differ; some remove the 
object from the acid, and wash, and having dried, burn it upon 
thin glass until all appears white, when it must be carefully 
mounted in balsam. I think, however, it is better to leave it 
in strong acid until all the substances, except the required 
portion, is removed ; but this will take a length of time, vary- 
ing according to the mass, etc., of the plant. Of course, 
when this latter method is used, the skeleton must be washed 
from the acid, etc., before being mounted in balsam.” 

_ M. Chevallier’s book is an effort, on a smaller scale and 
less comprehensive plan, to do for French students what Dr. 
Carpenter’s work on the microscope has accomplished for our 
own. From his pages we conclude that many desirable ac- 
cessories for the illumination of both opaque and trans- 
parent objects that are commonly employed in England are 
little used in France, and the chapter on Test Objects, mainly 
founded on experiments so old as those of Dr. Goring, would 
not in this country be considered up to date. The student is 
taught, for example, to be satisfied with a definition of the 
Podura scale, far below what would be given by a fair second- 
rate quarter-inch of English make. 

M. Chevallier recommends distilling a liquid from Canada 
balsam, in order to obtain a fluid well adapted to thin other 
specimens of the balsam, or to soak objects in, that are in- 

‘tended to be mounted in it. He likewise recommends a 


’ 
332 Liecent Microscopie Literature. 


varnish made by dissolving copal in essential oil of lavender. 
A drop of this varnish is placed on the slide, the object laid on 
it, covered with thin glass, and set aside in a warm place for 
a few days. Another varnish, which he affirms to give ex- 
cellent results, is composed of— ; 


Canada balsam. . . . . 30 grammés. 
Tears of mastic, powdered . 10  ,, 
Chloroform in sufficient quantity. 

The chapters on preparing objects are very good, but most 
of the information is the same as that given in Mr. Davies’s 
work. M. Chevallier, as the latest contribution to this subject, 
gives the following process, modified from that prepared by 
Mr. Leader of Philadelphia. He says, “I have lately tried a 
new compound which has given very good results, with Navi- 
culz and other delicate objects. Here is the formula+—In 
30 grammes of chloroform dissolve 1 gramme of caoutchouc. 
When the solution is effected, add tears of mastic until a 
syrupy or demi-syrupy consistence is obtained.’”? The object 
is put in a drop of this solution on a slide, gently pressed and 
allowed a day to dry, after which the edges of the covering 
glass are varnished. It is said to be perfectly transparent and 
unalterable. 

Before leaving the subject of mounting, we must allude to 
Mr. F'reestone’s new mounting-table, described by Mr. Goddard 
in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopie Science for April, 1864, 
p- 45. The object of Mr. Freestone’s invention is to dry and. 
harden slides rapidly, without injury to the objects. 

“It consists of a plate of brass 12 inches by 3, and one- 
eighth of an inch thick. Upon this, two pieces of metal of the 
same thickness, and 12 inches by 1, are riveted, leaving a 
clear space one inch wide in the centre of the plate ;- the whole 
being supported on tubular legs seven or eight ches high.” 
The slides are laid across this table, which is heated by a spirit 
lamp underneath, and from the form of the table the part of the 
slide containing the object does not touch the brass plate, but j 
is heated by conduction, radiation, and by currents of hot air, 
Mr. Goddard states that delicate sea-weeds, such as Plocamium < 
and Cladophora, can be mounted in balsam by the aid of this 
apparatus without losing their colour. . 

We do not observe in M. Chevallier’s work many allusions — 
to articles of apparatus not well known in this country; but — 
the “variable objective” invented by his father we haye not — 
had an opportunity of seeing, and, from the description, it 
might be very handy. “It is composed of two brass tubes 
sliding one in the other ; and at the extremity of each tube is 
an achromatic lens of long focus. . . By means of the — 


Hxogenous Seeds and Fern Spores. 333 


sliding tube, the two links may be separated or approximated 
so as to give a greater or smaller magnification.” 

M. Chevallier’s work is, in many respects, well executed ; 
but we regret that in describing the Infusoria he follows the 
classification of Muller, according to which rotifiers are con- 
founded with the vorticellids, because both make whirlpools 
by means of their cilia, a fact not quite true of the floscularians, 
and which, taken by itself, affords little clue to either affinities 
or structure. 


EXOGENOUS SHEDS AND FERN SPORKES.* 


BY BR. DAWSON, M.B., LONDON. 
(With a Tinted Plate.) 


Batrour, in his Manual of Botany, says, ‘The embryo varies 
in its structure in different divisions of the vegetable kingdom. 
In Acrogenous and Thallogenous plants it continues as a cell 
or spore, with granular matter in its interior, without any 
separation of parts or the production of cotyledons. Hence 
these plants are called Acotyledonous.” 

Further on he says, “The spore of Acotyledonous plants 
is a cellular body, from which a new plant is produced. Ger- 
mination takes place in any part of tts surface, and not from 
jiwed points,” 

Moore, on British Ferns, defines spores much the same; 
describing the determined points im seeds, the cotyledons, the 
ascending and descending axes, and then, contrasting the 
development of ferns’ spores, says, ‘On the contrary, they 
consist merely of a small vesicle of cellular tissue, growing 
indifferently from any part of its surface’ (Hand-book of British 
Ferns). Carpenter on the Microscope, Lindley’s Vegetable 
Kingdom, etc., all have a like idea. The above, then, is the 
received opinion of the present day relating to the growth of 
the fern spore. See also Hofmeister’s elaborate work, published 
by the Ray Society. 

These same high authorities also state and believe that 
ferns germinate by bodies called antherozoids or males, coming 
into connection with archegonia or females, and this occurs on 
the first-formed body from the spores, called prothallium. 

The first part of these statements, as far as I can learn, 
has never been questioned; the latter has, though now uni- 
versally accepted. I proceed to disprove the first statement 
entirely, and I hope to throw discredit on the last. 

A seed in its simplest form, such as seen in the mistletoe, 


* This paper was read before the Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society. 


BE. Hzogenous Seeds and Fern Spores. 


is composed of a cell called a nucleus, within which is the 
germinal sac, containing the germinal vesicle. In the amniotic 
fluid, attached to the germ sac, is the suspensor. If the 
mature germ fill merely its sac, the rest of the nucleus is filled 
with vegetable albumen (see Campanulacez), or the germ may 
fill both its sac and nucleus (see Composite). io 

Now this geym sac is formed by a depression at the apex 
of the nucleus, the edges meeting; but at the pomt where 
they meet is the spot where the future root will make its first 
appearance. Whatever coverings may grow over the seed, 
they avoid this spot, which, in time, becomes a little hole, and 
called the foramen or micropyle, marking the organic apex 
of the nucleus. The organic base is marked by the chalaza, 
where are seen fibro-vascular bundles passing forwards from 
the funis or umbilical cord to the nucleus. 

The hilum marks where the funis joins the seed te the 
placenta. ' 

The nucleus may simply be an erect ovule, when the base 
will correspond with the hilum, or it may make a procession 
till the apex comes down to the hilum, or may retain any 
intermediate position. Moreover, the nutrient matter may 
make a bend on itself, in which case the seed will be said to 
be camptotropal or curved like a horse-shoe. 

Around the nucleus may be coverings, called intine and 
extine, being developed from its base. Moreover, it may 
have another covering, as in the mace or spindle-tree, called 
an arillus, developed from the chalaza or from around the 
foramen. 

A. perfect seed, therefore, consists of a nucleus, a germ, 
and a germ sac, which latter contains the embryo of an 
ascending and descending axis, together with nutrient matter, 
having a foramen of exit and certain coverings. ‘ 

_ When a seed begins to grow, having imbibed water, the 
radix pushes forward through the foramen, and if the coats 
of the seed be thin, they rupture irregularly from the pres- 
sure, so that, at first sight, it would seem as though there 
were no foramen. While the radix pushes its way out, the 
nutrient matter within has been undergoing changes: starch 
becomes, through diastase, dextrme and grape sugar. Mean- 
while the germinal spot has arranged itself, and the plumule 
or ascending axis can be traced; the nutrient matter supplying 
sustenance to the several parts, as in wheat or barley ; or else 
it forms itself into primary leaves, as in the bean or mustard, 
not having enough matter in itself entirely to nourish the 
plumule. ‘Therefore these leaves elaborate matter taken from 
the ground by the radix, and so indirectly support it. 

lf the spores of ferns be carefully examined, there will 


Pn ih eet Pe Peer errs 


—— 


a i ne, ee he. 


GERMINATION OF FERN SPORKS. 


l. Spores of Lastrza dilatata. 2. Spores of L. filix-mas. 
8. Osmundaregalis. 3’. Backof same. 4. Polypodium phegopteris. 4. When young, 
5 fPlatycerium alcicorne, and 7, 8. 9, to 15. 6. Lastreea rigida, : 
6’. The same young. 7 to 13. Progressive development of Platyceriam alcicorne. 
A. First new cell. B. Old cell. G. Primary vesicle and germ, 


F. Foramen. R. Radia. P. Hxtine. M. Fern always appears here. 


- 
t 
| 
a 
a. 
) 
1’ 4 
fy 
el 
. Ul 
a 
» 
i} 
7 x» 
. 
. 
* 
e { . 
. 
i 
t 
: % 
t 
, 
¥ oe | AA 
° 
n 
f 
WZ 
' “ 
2 
‘ - e ‘ 


Exogenous Seeds and Fern Spores. — 339 


be seen on all markings, such as seen in Plate (Figs. 1 
to 7). What are these markings? 

If a spore be examined when young and transparent (Fig. 8, 
Platyceriwm alcycorne), it will be noticed that there is an 
outer covering and an inner linmg membrane filled with clear 
homogeneous matter, and invariably, near the marking above 
named, a compound body in a sac; attached to the sides of 
which, proceeding from the marking to the body, are two 
small processes if the body be in the centre of the marking, 
but one, if it be to the side. If the mature spore of the same 
plant be examined, it will be found, as at Vig. 7, filled with a 
mass of yellow refractive globules, and the nucleus will with 
difficulty be made out; but if some reagents, such as glycerine, 
be added, the globules will become transparent, and the 
nucleus revealed again. These globules are the homogeneous 
matter before named, plus other matter imbibed. Ifa mature 
spore be grown and watched from time to time, the following re- 
sults:—The spore swells, at the marking before named a peculiar 
body appears (R, Fig. 9). This pushes its way through the 
marking, as seen by the dotted lines, and so the cell is 
ruptured. ‘This marking proves itself to be a vaginal opening, 
or, in other words, a foramen (r), and the body which has pushed 
out, aradix. While this change has been gomg on, a corres- 
ponding alteration has ensued within the spore. At the 
upper part a cluster (A) of green bodies has appeared precisely 
similar to those seen afterwards in all the cells of the pro- 
thallium, while the globules of matter have shrunk into a mass (2) 
not large enough now to fill the cell (8). Meanwhile the cells at 
A have constituted themselves into a new cell (c), excluding 
B; ¢ takes another cell (p), and this again another, and so on 
till a body of the form of Fig. 13 is formed, which is called 
the prothallium. While a has been undergoing these changes, 
B’s matter has wasted entirely away ; a few cells, such as seen 
in A, are within it, but its future destiny is not absolutely 
traced. 

For convenience I will name all these described parts. The 
spore is a nucleus with a covering; it contains a germinal 
vesicle in a sac. The opening in the spore covering is the 
foramen. When the spore grows, the radix forces open the 
foramen, while the primary germ has been undergoing a 
change. This reads very like the description of a seed; 
and the similitude does not merely extend to appearance, but 
the functions of both are alike. The only difficulty is in the 
prothallium, which appears, at first sight, to have no analogy 
in the seed, though, in fact, the cotyledons in the mustard 
and the prothallium in the fern are identical, answering the 
purpose of developing the plumule. I have hitherto, as far as 


336 '  Heogenous Seeds and Fern Spores. 


possible, avoided this word cotyledon, and have used nutrient 
matter, for it signifies not what the form of the matter, its 
function is the same, viz., directly to nourish the radix, directly 
and indirectly to nourish the plumule. Now, im the wheat it 
simply supplies nourishment to both till it is exhausted, being 
sufficient, all things being equal, to develop the young plant 
till it is able to gain its own sustenance. But in the mustard 
it is the reverse ; there the nutrient matter is not sufficient to 
support the radix and plumule entirely, so it changes itself 
into leaves, whereby matter taken up by the radix may go to 
the support of the plumule; and this is proved by seeing the 
leaves in full vigour,.when the plumule can scarce be traced. 
_ Moreover, when the plumule is once established, these leaves 
waste and die, or, if they be plucked off, the plumule will not 
appear. Now the proof that this matter in the spore nucleus 
is nutrient, is seen in its wasting in proportion as the radix 
and primary cell develop, during all which time those cells 
which have to develop into the future fern are quite rudi- 
mentary, and not traced for a certainty as yet. Now the 
mustard cotyledons are only. the rudiments of the two coty- 
ledonary leaves, for it can be seen that these latter grow. | 
But the prothallium is but an elaboration of the cell (a), | 
derived from the nutrient matter (B). The question is one, 
therefore, only of degree; and if mustard has one or more 
cotyledons, the spore must have the same. We need no 
fanciful resemblances, or else, to look at the prothallium, we 
could imagine two cotyledons in one. I have said that a seed 
has a suspensor; I have pointed out bodies attached to the 
primary vesicle of a like kind. Moreover, seeds have an 
arillus or extra covermg. Figs. 4 and 6 show a covering 
around many kinds. of spores. 4° 6’ mark the appearance of 
young spores of the same kind, showing that, at one stage 
of existence, the spore has not this covering; in fact, anety 
intermediate stage may be seen. 

It can be clearly demonstrated that, at the point 1, which 
marks the foramen, the hilum also exists; but the analogy | 
between a seed and a spore is, I think, sufficiently perfect. 
What have I done then? I have made my fern to partake 
of the nature of a flowering plant minus the flower. And now 
one word as to filicial sponsalia. Where is the marriage-bed ? 

Flowers have an infancy and manhood, and in this last pro- 
per time they generate their species. Flowers are not peculiar, 
animals do the same; in fact, save in one solitary case, 
throughout animated nature, no individual is said to beget 
its offspring before its own proper self has any existence. 
Incredible as it may seem, one plant is believed by all scien- 
tific men to-day, to be begotten, to have all its own offspring 


— ae ” ‘- 


lea enous Seeds and Hern Spores. Soe 
g Pp 


pre-begotten and pre-destined, before that solitary individual 
has made its appearance or de facto, is—and that one plant 
a Fern. 

Sumniski and Mercklin affirm, and men believe them, that 
on the prothallium, before the fern has any being, two bodies 
exist, male and female; that the males, enclosed m their own 
proper envelope, live incells, which from time to time burst, 
setting free their occupants, which are individuats with a club- 
head, like a spermatozoa, a spiral tail, and six cilia at the head ; 
that the females are small pyramids of cells, having at the 
bases the germinal spot, at the apex an opening ; that the males 
enter the pyramids, and passing down a straight tube, effect 
the conjunction required ; that from this spot the future fern 
grows, already pre-destined and pre-impregnated for the years 
or ages of its life. 

The story is too romantic, the compromise between animal 
and vegetable impregnation too obvious to be real; besides, what 
are the cilia and curved tail for, impediments rather than aids 
to going down a straight tube, and cilia are for swimming, but 
where has the Leander to swim tohis Hero? Moreover, these 
so-called males and females are not a few, but many, at the 
base of the prothallium, to the right and left of the centre line 
—how strange that never more than one female becomes im- 
pregnated, and that only one fern results from so much gene- 
rative matter, and on one prothallium. Again, how strange 
that this fern which does result, occurs in the middle line 
invariably, and never to the sides, although females are as 
many at the sides as middle. I have carefully observed these 
bodies, which are clearly to a demonstration nothing but roots 
and stomata in all stages of development; that by the pressure 


‘of the covering-glass the contents of the young ones may 


escape, but that they have tails and whiskers is pure imagina- 
tion. These same bodies may be seen clearly in the radix from 
the very outset, and have nothing whatever to do with impreg- 
nation; at a future time I will illustrate this more fully. For 
the present, however, ferns are still Cryptogamia, and their 
conjunction to be found out; but we have one aid furnished us 
by this inquiry, a spore isa seed, a seed came from an adult 
plant, nor was it formed ona cotyledon-placenta. We must 
look, then, to the adult fern for its two elements, and there 
we find evidence enough for demonstration. . 

I have omitted to note the form of the fern ovule: if what 
is affirmed be true, the cotyledon must be curved on the germ. 
The foramen and hilum corresponding, we shall, therefore, 
have a camptotropal ovule. In another paper, I hope to give 
sufficient evidence of the impregnation of adult ferns, and that 
occurring where the fruit is found. 


338 Star Following. 


STAR FOLLOWING. 


BY REV. E. L. BERTHON, M.A. 


In the InreLtecruan Osserver for May (No. xxvii. p. 290), 
a description is given of convenient methods of following the 
heavenly bodies in their apparent courses, with a telescope 
mounted on a new table-stand; but as the woodcut necessary 
to make it intelligible was accidentally omitted, the object of 


these few lines is to supply that deficiency; and the accom- 


panying illustration is to be understood as belonging to that 


description. 


AAA 


See AN 


a 


The reader is also requested to refer to the InrrnnecruaL 
Oxsurver for November, 1863, No, xxii. p. 283, for a drawing 
and specification of the stand, to which these recent improve- 
ments are added. 

The writer further embraces this opportunity of offering a 
few remarks upon the advantages of good stands for astrono- 
mical telescopes. 

Although equatoreals are becoming daily more common, 
they will never, for obvious reasons, entirely supersede those 
possessing horizontal and vertical motions; and to combine 
these two movements together to produce an even course with- 
out vibrations, or a succession of jerks, is a considerable step 


in the improvement of table-stands and in increasing the effec- ° 


tiveness of the optical instrument so mounted, and the com- 
fort enjoyed in its use. 

The two chief desiderata in a stand are— 

lst. That it be steady and free from vibrations. 

2nd. That the least possible exertion be required to set and 


— “i 
OE 


Star Following. : 3089 


keep it in motion, for in the more delicate observations the 
observer is often sadly distracted by his efforts, owing to the 
imperfection of his stand, to keep the object steadily in the 
centre of the field of view. 

It has been remarked by eminent astronomers, that an 
inferior telescope on a good stand will do more than the best 
instrument badly mounted ; that recommended by the inventor 
in this and the previous articles, combines the advantages of 
great steadiness and comfort in use in a high degree. It will 
be observed that the forces which produce motion both in 
azimuth and altitude are exerted on the base of the stand, and 
that the tube is never touched ; there is, therefore, as little 
proportional tendency to shake it as there would be to shake 
a tree by applying force to its roots, instead of seizing its 
branches. Besides, the telescope is not held by one joint only, 
but it is actually supported on four trunnions, the long side- 
arms doing duty as bearers as well as steadying-rods. 

Although this construction may not be adopted for sale by 
opticians as being less portable, and not so easily packed in a 
case as the pillar-and-claw stand, it will be found very de- 
lightful to amateurs, who, if possessed of a little mechanical 
skill, and with the aid of a joimer and tinman, may erect one 
for a small sum. The tripod stand for out-of-door service is 
very much used, but it is not a comfortable arrangement, 
especially in any of the more delicate observations; if the 
astronomer stand up he finds it difficult to keep his head 
steady, and to sit down in the open air is not always pleasant 
in a winter night. ; 

Mr. Bird in the last number of the Inratiectuan OpsERvER, 
p. 242, remarking upon the almost necessity of comfort to the 
observer, if he would make anything of minute details in the 
Stellar or Planetary Orbs, says, “To do any of these things 
effectively in the open air, with one’s telescope agitated by the 
passing wind and a body shivering with cold, is clearly next to 
impossible.”’ . 

The strong recommendation of this gentleman, who has 
done so much with silvered specula, that amateurs should pro- 
vide themselves and their instruments with the genial shelter of 
a cheap observatory, cannot be followed too soon or too gene- 
rally ; but the writer, having the same end in view, hopes that 
the above-named very intelligent astronomer will pardon him 
for stating that though cheap, his is not the cheapest obser- 
vatory, he (the writer) having himself erected one for half the 
money, which he most strongly recommends to the consider- 
ation of all amateurs who possess a garden or other ground 
with tolerable sky-view ; it is extremely pretty both externally 
and internally, and forms a most pleasing ornament to a garden 

VOL. V.—NO. V. AA 


340 A Supposed New Acineta. 


or pleasure ground. It was built last summer, and answers 
admirably, being 10 feet clear in diameter inside, and 10 feet 
6 inches high to the apex of its roof, which is conical and 
opens to every part of the sky, from the horizon to the zenith. 
Although Mr. Bird’s observatory cost certainly very little, 
£14, that possessed by the writer cost him less than £6, 
and it might be built anywhere for £7. As the luxury of such 
a pleasing retreat to the student of the noble science of 
astronomy is immense, it is presumed that many a shivering 
dilettante would be glad to possess one if put in the way to 
obtain it for so small a sum. The writer, therefore, would be 
happy to publish, in a future number of the InrettectuaL OB- 


SERVER, if agreeable to the editor, a full description of a cheap— 


and ornamental observatory, such as any village carpenter 
could build in about a fortnight. 


- 


A SUPPOSED NEW ACINETA. 


BY HENRY J. SLACK, F.G.S., 
Member of the Microscopical Society of London, 
(With an Illustration.) 


On the 22nd April I spent a couple of hours at Budleigh 
Salterton, South Devon. At this little place the Otter enters 
the sea, forming, for so small a stream, a somewhat large 
estuary, which low water reduces to a mud flat, through which 
the river runs in one principal and some subsidiary channels, 
the latter, no doubt, subject to much variation. At the time of 
my visit, one of these little channels, a few feet to the west of 
the principal one, was full of seaweeds, on which I noticed 
diatoms growing. <A tuft of fine weed, covered with Synedre, 
was put into a bottle, and on examination disclosed a number 
of Cothurnizw, or creatures resembling Vorticellids, but in- 
habiting elegant glass-like cups, supported on stalks. One of 
these is shown in Fig, 1. ‘These, although very pretty objects, 
did not detain my attention, as I had often seen them before ; 
but I was surprised to find in other cups, not in any way to be 
distinguished from those in which Cothurnizw were living, a 
creature differing from anything I had previously met with. 
My first impression, on seeing a row of cylindrical and stiff 
tentacles, was that I had found a small polyzoon; but, on 
viewing it with a higher power, I saw that the tentacles were 
not ciliated, and I could not discern a trace of internal organs 
proper to so high a group. Polyps the animals certainly were 
not, and my puzzle increased. ‘The Cothurnian lives in his cup 


; 
. 
. 
f 
, 
7 


Ce ee 


A Supposed New Acineta. 341 


Expianation of PLatr.—Fig. 1. Cothurnian, mag. 240. The horizontal lines at the top of 
the stalk not seen in all specimens. Fig. 2. Supposed new Acineta, mag. 240. Fig. 3. Another 
specimen, with tentacles extended, mag. 420. Hig. 4. Another specimen, the sarcode exhibiting 
apparent remains of a tailfoot. The circle with three dots represents a small boss of sarcode, 
with three tentacles fore-shortened, mag. 240. Fig. 5. Two individuals, in conjunction (?), 
mag. 1000. Fig. 6. The sarcode of the above, showing tentacles in two rows, mag, 420, 


342 A Supposed New Aeineta. 


or bottle in an intelligible way. He stands upon a footstalk, 
or tailfoot, and jumps up and down as he likes. The new crea- 
tures were, on the contrary, suspended near the mouth, as 
shown in Fig. 2. The cups of the Cothurnians, and of their 
strange companions, were so transparent, so clean, and so thin 


near the edges, that their rims wanted careful illumination to. 
make out, and I did not succeed in determining precisely how 


the new creatures were moored. In favourable specimens I 
saw two delicate lines, as in Fig. 2, which did not, with any 
power or illumination, look like cords; but which I sup- 
posed represented a very fine membrane going all round the 
animal’s body, and probably forming an inversion of the cup 
rim. ‘The animals were very sluggish; but occasionally the 
group of tentacles would be retracted, though not perfectly. 
In this state they were like a row ofregularteeth. Slowly they 
were protruded, generally not more than in Fig. 2, but in one 
specimen, as fully as Fig. 3, which is drawn on a larger scale. 
I looked in vain for positive organs in the little granular lump 
of sarcode that formed the body. At first I thought I made out 
a contractile vesicle ; but I could see no regular expansion and 
contraction. The sarcode mass varied in details im different 
individuals. In some, large granules and vacuoles were dis- 
cernible; in others, both granules and vacuoles were small. 
Most of them, in shape of body, resembled Figs. 2 and 3, and 
did not occupy more of the cup. One, however, departed from 
this rule in two particulars ; first, his body was large, and, at 
the hinder part, was what might be taken for the remains of a 
tailfoot: secondly, instead of a simple row of tentacles, he had 
some perched on a boss of sarcode, as shown in Fig. 4, where 
the dots represent three tentacles fore-shortened. 

Another case presented a still more curious peculiarity, 
as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. There was nothing to determine 
what the two portions were about. It could scarcely have 
been fission, because the larger and smaller portions were each 
in a separate cup or bottle, the upper one having no stalk. 
Was it conjunction? I do not know. I watched them for about 
three hours, then checked the evaporation of the water drop 
under the thin glass cover, by running a little wax from a 
vesta round the edges, and in the morning found the situation 
unchanged, but the animals apparently dead. In this case the 
tentacles were in two rows, one apparently belonging to each 
portion of the compound object. 

Small infusoria frequently bobbed against the tentacles, 
and sometimes large ones; but the creatures remained very 
sluggish, and made no attempt to capture prey. Jarring the 
table, suddenly pressing the glass, produced no effect ; nor did 
shifting the cover glass, by moving it laterally with considerable 


OE, 


A Supposed New Acineta. 343 


roughness. On one occasion, a Huplotes, who seemed tor- 
mented by the adhesion of foreign bodies, and by some disorder 
that produced bumps on his surface, made use of one of the 
new creatures as a sort of rubbing post. This went on for 
some minutes without disturbing its repose, but at length 
the tentacles did retract. 

I was strongly impressed with the idea that the creatures 
were transition forms, and could not conceive that the stalked 
cups were made by them in anything like their present con- 
dition, or that they were ever made by and for an inmate 
who was destined to remain suspended from their mouths, 
leaving the greater part of the space waste. I thought they 
were transition forms of the Cothurnians, and still think so, 
although I could find no positive proof of the correctness of 
this view. In some Cothurnians, the edges of the cups were 
prolonged, and in Fig. 4 the new animal filled the cup better 
than any others which I saw, and it had something like the 
remains of a tailfoot. 

The new creatures varied considerably in size, the most 
common dimensions being about 1-100" from the top of the | 
expanded tentacles to the bottom of the footstalk. The 
stalks were curved, or straight, indifferently, as were those of 
the Cothurnians. The normal. form was, I suppose, straight, 
and the curvatures accidental. | 

I have called these objects new, because I cannot find that 
anything exactly like them has been previously described ; 
but the creatures seen by Mr. Alder in 1851 seem to have been 
in some respects similar, judging from his sketches; though 
they have been treated as if they differed widely from mine. 
Mr. Alder’s account was published in the Transactions of the 
Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club, and from thence transferred 
to the Annals of Natural History, 1851, vol. vii., p. 426. 
His words are as follows: ‘‘ While examining a specimen of 
Sertularia taken from the rocks at Whitburn, under the 
microscope, I was struck with the appearance of what seemed 
a very minute parasitic Zoophyte, several specimens of which 
were attached to different parts of the Sertularia. The body 
was of a vase or cup form, expanded at the top, and set round 
with numerous pointed tentacles abruptly thickened towards 
the base, and forming more than one row; they had very 
little motion, but were occasionally bent forward, and the 
whole were sometimes slowly retracted. The body was 
attached to the Sertularia by a tolerably short stem.” 

In another case he found a smaller one, “ the tentacles 
capitate or knobbed at the end, and not so numerous as in the 
first.” Mr. Alder states that in the first instance he took these 
creatures for Campanularian Zoophytes; but ‘found their 
organization more simple than in true polyps.” 


344 A Supposed New Acineta. 


It is curious that, as Mr. Alder thought these creatures 
looked like Campanularian Zoophytes, or animals inhabiting bell- 
shaped cups, he should have omitted the mention of the cup in 
his description, and described the “ body as of a vase or cup 
form.” The tentacles of his objects differed in shape from 
mine, and were clearly not the same, nor should I have ex. 
pected any strong resemblance, had I not noticed a copy of 
his drawings in the Micrographie Dictionary, pl. 40, figs. 13, 
14, 15, which led me to further research. The drawings, es- 
pecially 14 and 15, and those from which they were copied in 
the Annals, seem to show that the body of the creature is 
suspended in a bell-shaped cup standing on a stalk. At first 
these objects were named Alderia; but that appellation having 
been pre-occupied, they took their place among the Podophrya 
and the allied genus Ephelota in the last and fourth edition 
of Pritchard’s Infusoria. In this position they were placed, 
as Mr. Pritchard informs us, by Dr. Strethill Wright. In my 
specimens certain peculiarities mentioned by Dr. Wright in the 
stem and tentacles of his Ephelota did not exist. The Podophrya 
ovata and pyriformis in Pritchard’s Infusoria, and especially 
the former, seem, on the whole, to bear most resemblance to 
mine. 

I have indicated the few points of resemblance between my 
creatures, which I believe to be Acinetans, and those described 
by Mr. Alder and Dr. Strethill Wright, and through the kind- 
ness of the last-named gentleman, to whom I am indebted for 
an obliging and valuable communication, I am able to state 
that his two genera, ‘‘ Podophrya and Hphelota, differ from 
Acineta in having no cell or cups; but a chitinous solid stem 
sometimes enlarged at its summit. ‘he internal part of the 
stem is either transversely or longitudinally striated with lines 
of growth.” ‘This settles the fact that my creatures were not 
Podophryans ; but the distinction between cup and no cup is 
softened down in one specimen of Podophrya, of which Dr, 
Wright has favoured me with a sketch, and in which the top 
of the stem is hollowed out. 

Dr. Strethill Wright finds in the neighbourhood of Hdin- 
burgh two Acinetans which are something like mine, but 
obviously not identical; and he informs me that the tentacles 
are often very obscurely capitate or knobbed at the ends: mine 
certainly had no knobs; but perhaps the distinction of knobs 
or no knobs is not always permanent. 


Gautier on the Physical Constitution of the Sun. 349 


GAUTIER ON THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF 
THE SUN. 


Tae Archives des Sciences, 20th April, 1864, contains a paper 
by M. Emile Gautier, reviewing various observations, opinions, 
and discoveries of eminent astronomers, from the consideration 
of which he deduces the following conclusions. In giving 
these and other speculations we may be permitted to remind 
our readers that they supply a mass of hypothesis worth con- 
sideration, but certainly not to be accepted as ascertaimed 
fact. | 

1. “The sun is a liquid globe, incandescent, composed of 
elements like those which enter into the composition of the 
earth, and probably into that of the planets of the system. 
They exist in a state of liquidity, such as the earth passed 
through, according to the current opinions of geologists.* The 
high temperature which preserves the elements in a liquid 
form, necessarily dilates their volume, and explains the rela- 
tively small density of the fused globe.” 

2. “ An atmosphere envelops the liquid mass, and holds in 
suspension vapours and emanations of all kinds, so that the 
inferior layers may be much heavier than those of the terrestrial 
atmosphere. The rotatory movement of the central globe 
need not be supposed to be transmitted to the most elevated 
regions of the solar atmosphere with the same angular velocity. 
We may therefore presume that the solar atmosphere exercises 
an action of rubbing or friction on the globe.” ‘ 

3. “The emanations or metallic vapours surrounding the 
sun, and impregnated with dust, smoke and lava, form around 
him a layer of variable thickness, and give rise during eclipses 
to the red borders and protuberances.” 

A. “The solar spots are partial modifications of the surface, 
due either to coolings, or to chemical actions that cause a 
momentary reunion in masses of salts or oxides issuing from 
the mass in fusion and floating on the surface. At the end of 
a certain time—which may exceed a terrestrial year—the che- 
mical action of other elements, or an elevation of temperature, 
gives rise to new bodies. ‘The dark nucleus of the spots 
corresponds to the thickest part of the solid crust ; the penum- 
bra to the pellicle, which in every formation of this kind is 
seen on the surface of a metal in fusion, and which is always 
produced about salt or scorie. Both are liable to be cracked, 
and to form figures through which the brilliant fused mass may 
be seen in the form of luminous bridges or spots.” 


* Geologists. are not specially responsible for this opinion. Whether true or 
fulse, it is not evidenced by the superficial formations with which their labour lies. 


346 The Didunculus, or Little Dodo. 


5. “The facule are the result of the appearance on the 
sun’s surface of substances that are more luminous, or endowed 
with a more considerable power of radiation. The conditions 
inherent in the roseate envelope of. the solar globe, may also 
combine to give the surface the flocculent and uneven (pom- 
melée and moutonnée) appearance which it presents. 


6. “ The acceleration noticed in the rotation of the spots — 


situated near the sun’s equator, is the result of the exterior 
action of atmospheric pressure on the liquid surface, combined 
with that of the inferior layers of the mass in fusion. As for 
the accidental irregularities, ascertained to exist in the move- 
ment of the spots, whether in latitude or longitude, they 
arise from the want of equilibrium, both physical and chemical, 
existing between the different components of this mass, which 
cause frequent whirlpools, both in the interior of the globe and 
in its atmospheric envelope.” # 


THE DIDUNCULUS, OR LITTLE DODO. 


BY W. B. TEGETMEIER. 


TE extinction of several species of the lower animals through 


the agency of man is a fact that, unfortunately for the interests 
of science, admits of no dispute. Within the recent period of 
twenty years that most interesting water bird the Garefowl, or 
Great Auk, has been persecuted from off the face of the earth ; 
and sixty-three or sixty-four stuffed and dissected specimens 
are all that remain to prove the existence of-one of the largest 
and most powerful of our diving birds. 

The British Museum sample was shot in the Orkneys in 
1813, and the last known specimens were captured in 1844, 
and are preserved in the Museum at Copenhagen. Yet within 
the memory of old men now living, numbers of these birds 
existed on the Penguin Islands, near Newfoundland, but they 
were destroyed for the sake of their feathers. Now that this 
wanton destruction has been effected every effort is made to 
procure mutilated skeletons, or even a single bone of a bird in 
whose cause no hand was held out whilst it was alive; and the 
few specimens of the eggs that exist in our collections are 
valued at their weight in gold. 

Those of the younger readers of the InrELLEcTUAL OBsERVER 
who may be desirous of saying in their old age that they have 
seen a living specimen of an animal which will then no longer 
exist, hol haste to the gardens of the Zoological Society to 
see there a bird that is the first, and will in all probability be 


The Didunculus, or Little Dodo. 347 


the last, specimen of the Didinz, or family of the Dodos, that 
has ever been seen alive in Hurope.* 

Of the Great Dodo itself no perfect specimen remains. A 
foot in the British Museum, an imperfect skull at Oxford, some 
few engravings and paintings of the animal, are all that serve 
to show the previous existence of one of the largest, and 
what might have been most useful, of domesticated land 
birds. Its value as food, and its want of the power of flight, 
however, rendered it a desirable and easy prey to the earlier 
voyagers. 

Until recently so little was known about the Dodo that 
its powerfully hooked beak led Professor Owen to place it 
among the birds of prey, and to surmise that its food consisted 
of reptiles and crustacea. Some other naturalists regarded it 
as allied to the gallinaceous group. Within the last few years, 
however, the more critical examinations of the scanty remams 
of the Dodo prove, without doubt, that it was a gigantic ground 
pigeon. This idea will not appear so startling to our precon- 
ceived notions if it is borne in mind that, in addition to the 
slender-billed seed and grain-feeding birds that constitute 
the group of pigeons and doves best known in Europe, there 
is a group of powerful hooked-beaked pigeons, feeding on the 
hard-shelled fruits of palms and firmly-husked tropical seeds, 
requiring a strong beak to crack the outer shell. 

It is to this group that the extinct Dodo and the extant 
Didunculus belong. The former evidently employed its powerful 
bill in husking the fruits of the palms indigenous to the 
tropical islands it inhabited, in the same manner as the latter 
employs its beak in decorticating smaller fruits and hard-coated 
seeds. 

All that is known of the history of the living Di- 
dunculus is soon told. About twenty years since, Lady 
Harvey bought a collection of Australian birds in Edinburgh. 
Amongst the skins was one about the size of that of a very 
large pigeon, of a dark chocolate and resplendent black 
colour, with the upper jaw or maxilla hooked like that of an 
owl; the lower jaw or mandible strong, broad, and furnished 
with three angular teeth at the apex or part that closed 
under the hook of the maxilla. 

Sir W. Jardine described this unique specimen, and figured 
the head in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, vol. 
xvi, 1845, and termed it Gnathodon Strigirostris. Being 
regarded as an Australian bird, it was figured under the same 
name in Gould’s magnificent work on the Birds of Australia. 

Subsequently the living animal was discovered, by Mr. 


__ * The bird is now placed in the second compartment of the western aviary, 
which is situated to the right of the main entrance. 


348 The Didunculus, or Little Dodo. 


Titian Peale, of America, to be a native of the Samoan or Navi- 
gator’s Islands; and it was named by him the Didunculus 
Strigirostris, the name by which the bird is now known. No- 
thing more was learned about this little Dodo until November 
in last year, when the following letter was received by Dr. 
Sclater, secretary of the Zoological Society, from Dr. George _ 
Bennett, of Sydney :— , 

“ Tn the early part of June, 1863, a living Didunculus was 
brought to Sydney by Mr. J. Williams from Apia Upolu, one 
of the groups of the Navigator’sIslands ; and on the 15th of June, 
and the following days, I had several opportunities of examin- 
ing the bird. At first it seemed rather shy and wild, but 
afterwards it became more tame, and I could examine it with- 
out its manifesting any fear. It is about the size of a Nicobar 
Pigeon (Calenas Nicobarica), but rather bulkier and rounder in 
form. Its plumage was not in good condition owing te its 
having been recently confined in a cage on board ship, but it 
appeared healthy. This specimen, I should say, was a young 
bird with immature plumage, and the tooth of the lower man- 
dible not yet developed. When I first examined it the bird 
showed its fear by occasionally uttermg some rapid ‘coos’ and 
by fluttering in its cage, but it subsequently became quite 
tame. It was captured on the Island of Upolu after being 
wounded in the wing, and was sold by a native to Mr. Wil- 
liams. It has now been in captivity about nine months, and 
is kept in a cage which is merely a box with rails in front, like 
a hencoop. Here it can run on the floor, or sit on a low 
perch, or conceal itself in the corners, as it is particularly fond 
of doing, where, with its dark-coloured plumage, it cannot 
readily be distinguished. When disturbed it would move 
gently and timidly across the cage, affording an excellent op- 
portunity to the observer of examining it. Itis a stupid-looking 
bird, and has no particular attraction, except the anomalous and 
extraordinary form of the beak, which cannot fail to excite the 
attention of the most ordinary spectator. 

“The only sound it utters is the quick ‘coo-coo-coo,’ to 
which I have already alluded, the beak being always a little 
open when the notes were emitted. 'The whole of its plumage 
is of a chocolate-red colour, deeper in tint on the back, tail, 
and the primaries and secondaries of the wings; the throat, 
breast, and wing-coverts being barred with light brown. The 
upper part of the head was rather bare from the feathers having 
been rubbed off, but what remained were of a dark slate 
colour. ‘The base of the beak is orange red, and the rest of 
the mandibles ofa yellowish hue. ‘The tarsi are not feathered, 
and the legs and feet are of a bright orange red, similar in 
colour to those of the Kagu. The irides are dark reddish- 


The Didunculus, or Inttle Dodo. 349 


brown, and the cere round the eyes is flesh colour. The bird 
is fed upon boiled rice, yams, and potatoes.” 

This letter was followed by a second, received by the fol- 
lowing mail. In it Dr. Bennett says :— 

-“ T have to add to my account of the bird sent last mail 
that this bird was captured within five miles of Apia, Island of 
Upolu; so that the bird is not yet quite extinct in that island, 
as has been supposed even by the resident missionaries. It is 
very fond of the mountain plantain, upon which it has often 
been found feeding in its wild state.” 

A third letter states :— 

“Since my last letter another living specimen Of the Didun- 
culus has been brought to Sydney by the Rev. Mr. Rigg, who 
procured it from a native on the island of Savaii. This I have 
reason to believe is the identical bird that Mr. Trail, at the 
instigation of Mr. O’Hea, endeavoured to procure for me, as in 
reply to Mr. 'l'rail’s inquiries respecting the bird, the native 
informed him it had just been sold to a European on the other 
side of the island. On the day after the arrival of the vessel, 
I went on board and saw the bird, which ‘is a much finer 
specimen than the one in the possession of Mr. Willams. It 
appears to be full grown, and in adult plumage—the head, 
neck, breast, and upper parts of the back being of a glossy 
greenish black; back, wings, tail, and under tail-coverts a 
deep chocolate-red colour ; but I consider that the bird has only 
recently been changing its plumage, and that the present dark- 
green feathers will become more brilliant, and the chocolate- 
red colour of a still brighter hue. The legs and feet are of a 
bright red colour, and the claws yellowish-white. The man- 
dibles are of an orange-red colour, shading off near the tips 
to a light yellow. ‘The cere round the eyes is also of a bright 
orange-red colour; eyes, brownish-black. It is agreed by 
every oue with whom I have conversed, who has resided at the 
Navyigator’s Islands, that the Didunculus is nearly extinct, 
from being eaten by the natives as well as by the cats, rats, 
and other vermin, and that most of the other ground-pigeons 
are following its fate from the same causes. The possessor of 
the last bird says he has never observed the bird to drink 
water since it has been in his possession. Its food at that time | 
consisted of boiled yams, but it will eat bananas, apples, bread, 
and boiled potatoes. The lower mandible has the tooth well 
developed. This bird was very tame, and was eating some 
boiled yam very voraciously during the time I was mspecting 
it, bolting down very large pieces. 

“This morning I examined both birds; they are evidently 
moulting, and the younger bird has grown very much since I 
last saw it, and is becoming now a much larger bird than the 


350 The Didunculus, or Little Dodo. 


last arrival ; from this I am inclined to think they may prove 
male and female.” 

Of these two specimens one unfortunately died at Sydney ; 
the other has arrived in safety at the gardens. This specimen 
is a female; it laid an egg on the voyage. ‘This had been for- 
tunately placed on a shelf, and was rescued from destruction - 
by Mr. Bartlett; the egg is white in colour, and is about the 
size and form of that of a large variety of domestic pigeon. 

The most striking peculiarity in the appearance of the Di- 
dunculus is the maxilla and great width of the lower-toothed 
mandible. This width of lower jaw is characteristic of whole 
groups of pigeons, and is intimately connected with the manner 
in which they nourish their young. 

Both male and female, as is generally known, take part in 
the process of incubation. At the time when the young—two 
in number—are hatched, a peculiar secretion of curdy substance 
is formed in the crop of the parents. This is disgorged into 
the mouth of the young, and they are fed solely on this soft 
food for several days. The young are hatched in a very imper- 
fect condition, and they receive this soft curdy food (which 
may be appropriately termed “ pigeon’s milk”) by placing the 
beak nearly up to their eyes in that of the old one, and almost 
at right angles to it; so that the food disgorged by the parent 
is received into the expanded spoon-shaped lower mandible of 
the young. From this mode of feeding the young being uni- 
versal in the pigeons, all, of necessity, have the expanded 
mandible, which hence becomes one of the best marked external 
characters of the group. ; 

That these facts, simple as they are, are not universally 
known to naturalists, is evidenced by the fact that so good a 
naturalist as the late Mr. Yarrell, in his valuable treatise on 
British Birds, describes the old pigeons as feeding their off- 
spring by placing their beaks in the mouths of the young 
ones. 

The loss of the male Didunculus is deeply to be regretted ; 
as, before the final extirpation of the last of the Didine, it 
would have been exceedingly desirable to ascertain the exact 
circumstances of their incubation and mode of rearing their 
young, What labour would naturalists of the present day not 
undergo, in order to see the unwieldy Dodo pumping up its 
soft food into the jaws of its young (!) Not having the Dodo, 
however, it behoves us to take the more trouble to ascertain 
the structure, habits, and food of its living congener, the 
Didunculus. 


Recreations. in Natural History. 351 


RECREATIONS IN NATURAL HISTORY. 


ConvERTING science into a recreation is by no means to be des- 
pised, as some “ budge doctors of the stoic fur’ might be 
disposed to assert ; and the foundations of accurate knowledge 
and profound study have often been laid in the casual atten- 
tion bestowed for the mere sake of amusement upon some 
curious or striking natural fact. It is indeed an excellent plan 
to present the recreational aspects of science first, and leave 
the inevitable hard work to be encountered after the student 
has obtained a glimpse of the fascinations that await him when 
he has passed from the wilderness of ignorance into the pro- 
mised land of knowledge and truth. Dry treatises adapted to 
the school or the college might give the requisite start to a 
small number of determined workers; but the only way to 
raise up a large body of students of natural science, and to 
create a general interest in such questions throughout society 
is to make them a pleasurable exercise, in which large numbers 
can easily engage. This is the great function of the better 
class of popular works, in which the elements of experimental 
or descriptive science are exhibited in an entertaming guise. 
Some men fancy they must be learned because they are tire- 
some, and sneer at any knowledge that is not reduced to its 
most repulsive technical form. They would degrade natural 
history to an imsufferable catalogue of long-tailed names, and 
try to persuade themselves and the public that the observation 
of character and habits is unimportant, and that the one thing 
needful is to acquire the art of arranging objects upon a 
system, so as to put them into the right pigeon-hole as soon as 
they are seen. Systems of nomenclature and classification are 
no doubt indispensable, but they do not constitute science. 
They are only part of its mechanism, and of no intellectual 
worth, unless they are associated with clear and positive ideas 
of structure, development, and modes of life. 

Natural history may be approached in a popular and amus- 
ing manner in two ways. According to the first, the objects 
may be viewed in relation to habit and structure ; and accord. 
ing to the second, in relation to the use or mischief they do to 
man. Books of great interest have been written upon both 
plans, and form no small proportion of the healthy literature 
which our age provides for family reading. ‘lo be successful 
they demand on the part of their writers considerable acquire- 
ments, coupled with the happy art of presenting the salient 
points of their subject in an intelligible and pleasing light. 
Mr. Wood has recently added to his labours in the first of 
these departments a very pleasantly written work, now appear- 


352 Recreations in Natural History. 


ing in monthly parts, entitled Homes without Hands, in 
which the constructive faculties of all kinds of animals are 
agreeably set forth; and Dr. Phipson has selected an excellent 
set of subjects under the title of The Utilization of Minute Life.* 
If we were disposed to be hypercritical we might say that 
some of the living creatures whose utility to man forms the © 
theme of Dr. Phipson’s essay, are not exactly minute, as that 
term is scarcely applicable to the lobster or the crab; but the 
general appropriateness of the title will be apparent when we 
proceed to enumerate the contents. First, we find the Silk- 
Producing Insects, then the Colour-Producing Insects, then 
Insects producing Wax, Resin, Honey, and Manna; after which 
the Insects Employed in Medicine, or as Food, and other Insects 
useful to Man, are treated ina manner that conveys a great 
deal of zoological and technological information in a very plea- 
sant way. After the insects Dr. Phipson deals with the Crus- 
tacea in one chapter, and with the Mollusca in another; and 
the work concludes with Worms, Polyps, Infusoria, and 
Sponges. From this enumeration of subjects it will be appa- 
rent that Dr. Phipson has addressed himself to the widest 
possible range of readers, and by a happy union of chemical, 
zoological, and technological science, he has provided matter 
to suit all tastes. 

At the present moment two of Dr. Phipson’s subjects are 
especial matters of interest, and to them we shall confine our 
remarks ; first adverting to the efforts for increasing the pro- 
duction of silk, and secondly to the plans in operation for 
the artificial propagation of mollusca serviceable as food. 
Attention has been strongly directed to the introduction of 
new species of silk-producing insects, and to the prevention 
of the diseases which have proved so ruinous in many silk 
arms. Amongst the diseases we find “ muscardine,” caused 
by a parasitic fungus, for which cleanliness and the removal 
of sick larva seems the most effective remedy; ‘‘ atrophy” 
or “rachitism,” ‘‘ gangrene,” ‘jaundice,’ ‘‘ apoplexy,” 
** diarrheea,” ‘‘dropsy,” for which different methods of 
treatment are prescribed. ‘‘In the department of Vau- 
cluse, where on a small area of land more than two mil- 
lions of mulberry trees are grown, gangrene resulting from 
these and other maladies is arrested in its course by sprink- 
ling quicklime over the laryee by means of a very fine sieve, 
and then covering them with leaves soaked in wine.” The 
list of complaints sounds shockingly human, and affords a 
curious, though scarcely pleasing picture, of unity of plan in 

* The Utilization of Minute Life ; being Practical Studies on Insects, Crus- 


tacea, Mollusca, Worms, Polyps, Infusoria, and Sponges. By Dr. T. L. Phipson, 
F.C.8. London. Groombridge and Sons, 


Recreations in Natural History. 353 


nature’s works. .We do not know whether the old-fashioned 
race of silkworm doctors endeavoured to cure their wriggling 
patients by cathartics and depletion ; but it is interesting to 
find that in the case just mentioned the system which used to 
be named antiphlogistic is dispensed with, and alcoholic stimu- 
lants exhibited, in conformity with the practice of our best 
hospital doctors and the interesting theory of Professor 
Lionel Beale, who would tell us that when the unfortunate silk- 
worm was being reduced to a black fetid liquid through the 
agency of disease, a little alcohol would moderate the excessive 
action of the growing material, and restore the balance which 
health requires. 

Dr. Phipson mentions the great success attained by M. 
André Jean, the director of a large establishment at Neuilly, 
who has succeeded in introducing a splendid and very large 
race of silkworms, by breeding exclusively from well-selected 
specimens. . 

In addition to the ordinary silkworm the French are occu- 
pied in naturalizig other species, especially a fine one from 
the Himalayas, which lives upon the oak. ‘The Tussah silk ig 
coarser than the silk commonly known in this country, and 
the worms producing it may probably be reared in Kuropean 
countries to an extent sufficient to exercise an important in- 
fluence on the ordinary clothing of the people. Dr. Phipson 
states that ‘‘ garments of Tussah silk will wear, when in con- 
stant use, for ten or twelve years; and M. Guérin de Menne- 
ville has obtained from cocoons of his own rearing “ silk so 
strong, that a single fibre will support without breaking a 
weight of 198 grains.” 

A recent number of the InrLimctuaL OBSERVER contained 
an account of the employment of spiders to make carpets, and 
other European insects have been used for their spinning 
powers. Dr. Phipson has the following remarks upon this 
subject, and we are enabled to make the quotation more inte- 
resting by presenting our readers with one of the numerous 
excellent engravings with which his book is illustrated :— 

“f It is a doubtful question whether the breeding of any of 
the Kuropean moths will ever become a source of advantage. 
Experiments have already been made on certain varieties of 
clothes moths (Tinea). M. Habenstreet, of Munich, experi- 
mented some years ago upon a species called Tinea punctata, 
or Tinea padilla (Fig. 2), closely allied to 7’. 
Ewvonomella, The larvee of the former were 
made to spin upon a paper model, suspended 
from the ceiling ofthe room. To this model 
any form or dimensions could be given at Fia.2. Tinea padilla 
will, the motions of the larve being regu- (Silk-spinning gnat). 


304 Recreations in Natural History. 


lated by means of oil applied to those parts of it which were 
not intended to be covered. The investigations showed that 
on an average two of these larve can produce a square inch of 
silk, and when employed in great numbers their produce is 
astonishing. M. Habenstreet succeeded thus in manufacturing 
an air-balloon about four feet in height, one or two shawls, and_ 
a complete dress with sleeves, without any seams. The tissue — 
thus curiously produced resembled the lightest gauze, which it 
surpassed in fineness. We are told that the Queen of Bavaria 
once wore a robe of this description over her court dress.” 

Leaving the insect department of Dr. Phipson’s work we 
pass to the chapters on Mollusca, and hope that the repetition 
in his pages of the accounts of what the French are doing will 
stimulate exertions to add to the quantity of food produced by 
our shores. Artificial fish breeding should be supplemented 
by similar methods of increasing edible mollusks and crusta- 
ceans. Nothing can be simpler than M. Coste’s plan on the 
coasts of France. In Dr. Phipson’s words, “ he gets fresh 
oysters for propagation from the open sea; he turns to advan- 
tage those which are rejected by the trade; and lastly, he 
collects the myriads of embryo oysters which at each spawning 
season issue from the valves of the oyster, and which are now 
lost to commerce for want of some contrivance to prevent their 
escape and inevitable destruction.” 

Out of two millions of young produced by a single oyster, 
only ten or twelve attach themselves to the parent shell, and 
to save the mass of spawn M. Coste employs a very simple 
plan, of which we annex a sketch, borrowed from Dr. Phipson’s 
work (Fig. 20). So easy is the artificial cultivation of the oyster 


Fic. 20.—BuUNDLE OF FAGGOTS FOR PROPAGATING OYSTERS, ACCORDING TO 
M. Coste’s system. 


that “ about five-and-twenty thousand acres of coast may be 
brought into full bearing in three years, at an annual expense 
not exceeding £400.” ‘lhe young oysters attach themselves to 
the fascines, and at a suitable age are transported to a zone 
of the right depth. 

Zoologically speaking we ought to have noticed the lobster 


Recreations in Natural History. 505 


and crayfish before the oysters; but in the classification of 
domestic economy, the latter are the most important. We 
may, however, mention that both the lobster and the cray- 
fish may be bred artificially and rendered a cheap article of 
food. ‘The lobster produces from 15,000 to 20,000 eggs, and 
ihe crayfish upwards of 100,000. ‘here 1s thus plenty of 
material to work upon, and the principal apparatus 1s a breed- , 
ing trough, as shown in Fig. 10, to which we are indebted to 
Dr. Phipson’s work. 


Tm TTT On if “i. 
oll i H "i i ee il Ht el Ne 
pee | Se eee as a va ‘ 2 M1 


>= 


Fic. 10.—BReEEDING TROUGHS FOR HATCHING EGGS OF CRUSTACEA, etc. (From 
a sketch taken at the College de France, Paris.) 


A. Cistern. a. a. a. Glass troughs, containing gravel: the water flows constantly 
from one to the other in a gentle stream. B. Large trough for salmon, etc. 


We are so convinced that to be generally useful, scientific 
books must be interesting, that we have given particular pro- 
minence to that element in Dr. Phipson’s labours, and we are 
glad to be able to recommend it strongly on that account. We 
do not, however, wish to convey the impression that, because 
it is popular, it is not scientific. This is certainly not the 
case; but the work belongs to the department of Recreational 
Science, because it relates exclusively to matters that, although 
not generally known, are interesting and easily understood. 


VOL. V.— NO. ¥. BB 


356 The Functions of Art. 


THE FUNCTIONS OF ART. 


We do not intend to criticise any: individual pictures in the 
Royal Academy Exhibition or elsewhere. ‘The number of 
pieces that will receive popular praise or blame will depend 


chiefly upon the expectations the visitors to the various” 


galleries form concerning the functions of art. If they ask the 
painter only for clever finger work, they may soon fill up a 
large laudatory list; but if they demand clever brain work 
also, they will strike the pen of condemnation through the 
majority of the names of pieces which they were compelled to 
praise upon mere technical grounds. ) 

In reading the works of our best modern historians, the 
graphic power of reproducing and idealizing characters and 
events gives a charm and value to their pages that we seldom 
find when we turn from paper to canvas, and expect the 
pencil to rival or transcend what the pen has accomplished 
to make us realize the past. If the historian puts together 
his sentences with technical skill, if his periods are flowing, 
his grammar unexceptionable, and his meaning plain, we 
esteem him little, unless he rouses our emotions, excites our 


sympathies, and gives us some insight into that eternal linking ~ 


of cause and effect, without which life would be a disjointed 
and purposeless drama, and the incidents of human story mere 
rags and tatters of a many-chequered scene. No cleverness of 
composition makes us merciful to the writer who fails in those 
higher purposes which composition ought to serve; and why 
should the man who speaks to us through the mechanism of 
oils, pigments, and canvas, obtain laudation upon easier terms ? 
If he undertakes to bring before our eyes scenes connected 
with the assertion of political liberty, or with the insurrection 
of mind against the conventional forms of dead systems, we 
ought, before praising his picture, to ask whether, after studying 
it, we know more of the subject than we did before his labours 
were exposed to our view, and whether the meaning of the 
event is more distinctly felt and seen. His anatomy may be 
unexceptionable, bones and muscles may be in their places ; 
his figures may be well arranged, and their drapery of shape 
and hue that is pleasing to the gaze; but still, he has failed 
as an artist, unless the soul and sentiment of the subject glows 
through every lineament, and gives a moral and intellectual 
reality to all his work. What is the use of telling an heroic 
story so as to excite nobody to heroic thoughts or deeds ? 
Passing from the historic to the domestic, what do the 
silks and satins, the muslins and the crinolines matter, and 
what are they worth on canvas more than so much linen- 


—— 


: 
| 


F 


The Functions of Art. 307 


drapery stock, unless the picture in which they glisten sug- 
gests a thought worth haying, or an emotion that makes life 
truer and more beautiful than it was before. Interiors of 
cottages, village schools, and scenes of amphibious existence 
on the sea-shore, ought to be something more than works of 
imitation, tinged with the personal egotism of their manu- 
facturers, before they are entitled to demand our praise. Is 
there nothing in the peasant life of England but gnarled or 
chubby faces, fat bacon and hunks of bread? Is there nothing 
in the interior of our cottage homes—miserable dens though too 
many of them be—but carrots and crockery, a deal table and 
a mug of beer? ‘Those who paint peasant life as made up of 
these beggarly elements, had better leave it alone. You may 
see the grain of the wood floor, count the knots in the table, 
feel disposed to pick up the potato peelings, and be a profound 
believer in the patches on the clothes; but if the painter has 
seen nothing to idealize, if he excites no sensation of human 
worth, if his men, women, and children have nothing in them but 
simple animal characteristics, tinged with want, or degradation, 
no merit in his brown pitchers or clouted shoes should induce 
any one to fancy that he has produced a work of art. 

Cottage scenes are common enough in our exhibitions ; but 
how few painters perceive the pathetic or the nobler sides of 
humble life. And yet we know that where the common-place 
mind can see only its own miserable reflection, there may be 
enough heroic devotion for a Thermopyle—enough strength 
and tenderness for a whole calendar of saints. 

We want in art the mind of a poet-thinker, turning every- 
thing it touches to living gold; and after an exhibition has 
been gone through, and the physical fatigue of the process is 
over, he alone should be dignified by the name of an artist who 
has taught us how to see, or how to feel, or how to think, more 
truthfully and more beautifully than before. Take aspiration 
away from art, and it becomes so much dead lumber. If it 
leaves, its votaries with just so much indifference to bad things, 
and no more love of good things than they previously possessed, 
it has failed of its purpose ; it is like an instrument from which 
no music can be evoked,—a bell that will not ring, a book that 
proves to be nothing but leather and wood. » 

Very often indeed the painter comes forward as the ex- 
pounder of our great writers, and many works receive high 
praise upon the merely technical ground that the art-spelling is 
done properly, when no art-words are put together by which 
the verse of the poet becomes a stronger and more exquisite 
reality in our minds. If reading the poem gives us a better 
picture, the painter has been of no use. We are entitled to ask 
him to do more for us than our own imagination could easily 


398 The Functions of Art. 


body forth. Failing in this, however clever he may have been 
with his fingers, we do not thank him for his brains. 

The artist goes forth at all seasons of the year into the 
country, and in due course elaborates his landscapes. Here 
again, after demanding technical correctness, we are entitled to 


ask for something more. If his canvas looks lke the place, 


and that is all, his human intellect and heart have done little 
more for us than the photographer’s chemicals and lens. Ifwe 
go to the spot he depicts with no finer associations than we 
should have had without him; if he has given us small help in 
seeing, and none in the loftier process of linking together the 
beautiful and the true; what ought we to care for his work, 
although its precision might serve to guide the carrier to the 
right roadside inn, or suggest to maternal solicitude a convenient 
situation for sea-bathing when the children’s holidays arrive. 

There is a class of landscape very common in our gatleries, 
and yielding ample profits to its producers. We mean that in 
which some harsh and discordant effect of blazing light and 
colour is repeated with certain changes over and over again, and 
year after year. In another case a man carries his own eternal 
tameness to every scene—his waterfalls are composed of the same 
soapsuds, his trees have the same mild stems, and the same pale 
green leaves; his rocks are smooth enough for the drawing- 
room table when the cover is off, and his skies simper with one 
unvaried smile. He is no helper to see or think, not an artist, 
however deftly his brush may glide. Certain other men have 
discovered an “effect”? that will sell, and they produce their 
effect year after year, just as the crockery maker gives us the 
everlasting willow plate. In many instances, a certain crotchety 
egotism and mannerism always comes uppermost. It is evident 
that artists of this stamp do not look nature honestly in the 
face. They project one side of themselves upon all they behold. 
They are not interpreters of nature, nor can be until they have 
exorcised the demon of self. 

Doubtless we have good artists, as well as good brushmen ; 
but tried by their appeal to men’s higher faculties, not one 
picture in a hundred that fetches a high price, and secures the 
laudation of the common herd of critics, really deserves the 
name of a work of art. We believe our artists will give more 
when the public demands more. It is therefore we would 
stimulate the public demand. 


le 


Neighbourhood of the Lunar Spot, Mare Crisium. 359 


NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE LUNAR SPOT, MARE 
CRISIUM, JUPITER’S SATELLITES. 
OCCULTATIONS. 


BY THE REV. T. W. WEBB, M.A., F.R.A.S. 


Our somewhat lengthened examination of the interior of the 
Mare Crisiwm did not admit of our extending our survey beyond 
its immediate boundaries. Its vicinity contains, however, some 
interesting features. The surrounding elevated land is broken 
up in many places by eruptive force, and some of the craters 
deserve a passing notice. Condorcet (see the diagram in our 
April number) is a considerable crater, 45 miles in diameter, 
with a very regular interior, but an exterior quite the reverse, 
as is frequently the case where such formations occur im moun- 
tainous regions. It is about 8900 feet in depth. Azout is a 
similar but smaller crater, 16 miles in diameter; its interior 
has only 2° of grey light. Four ridges of some height, and . 
nearly equal in length, run from its wall to the “ sea,’ includ- 
ing between them three sloping bowl-shaped valleys.. Water- 
courses, if they were possible upon the moon, might be looked 
for in such localities, which are not of frequent occurrence. 
This is the remark of Beer and Madler, to whom the reader 
will understand that he is indebted, throughout these papers, 
for all statements not expressly referred to other authorities. 
I regret that in this, as in numberless other instances, I can 
add no corresponding observation of my own; and that with 
regard to the greater part of the lunar surface I am unqualified 
to act as guide, excepting upon the information of others. 
Firmicus, more than 38 miles broad, and nearly 5000 feet 
deep, is connected with Azout by a mountain ridge. Like the 
preceding craters it is of a uniform dark “steel grey,’ which, 
under a high illumination, though of the same intensity of 
light with the Mare Crisiwm, is different in colour, from the 
intermixture in the latter case of green. Apollonius, 380 
miles in diameter, is nearly S. of Hirmicus, and is the furthest 
in that direction of this crater group. The summit of its S.H. 
wall is 5400 feet above the interior. 

To the W. of this object we come to a more level country, 
remarkable under high lights for a set of broad, crooked, and 
branching streaks of dark grey, somewhat resembling, ac- 
cording to B, and M.’s remark, the Saima lakes in Finland. 
They seem under such circumstances to lie in a perfect plain. 
Near the terminator, however, they are perceived to be valleys 
divided by banks of moderate height, and associated with 


360 Neighbourhood of the Iunar Spot, Mare Crisium. 


craters. The aspect of the district is then so changed, that 
its correct identification as to details requires actual measure- 
ment. These great discrepancies, they observe, might easily 
lead to the idea of casual atmospheric obscurations or other 
changes; but continuous and persevering observation shows 
that they are all periodical, and so entirely dependent upon the 
angle of incident light, that an ephemeris of these phenomena 
might be constructed to serve for every lunation. Vegetation 
has been suggested, according to B. and M., by several astro- 
nomers, as the cause of these appearances; if so, it would 
require to be of a nature to run its course m a single lunation. 
In favour of this idea it might be alleged that many valleys of 
a precisely similar character are to be met with, especially 
nearer the Poles, that show no such grey tint, but preserve 
their bright aspect under high illumination.* All this, how- 
ever, is little to be depended upon; and it must be admitted 
that vegetation, in the absence of air and water, is to us incom- 
prehensible. It had already occurred to Schréter that the 
moon, from the very slight inclination of its equator to its 
orbit, could possess scarcely any change of seasons; and that 
therefore the functions dependent with us upon summer and 
winter, might there be discharged by its lengthened day and 
night ; so that vegetation might be concerned in the change 
of colour for which some spots are remarkable as contrasted 
with others, in proportion to the increased angle of the sun’s 
rays. Gruithuisen, as might have been expected from him, 
pushed the matter much further. He distinguished the grey 
spots into three classes, each, as he fancied, characterised by 
a “flora” of its own. 1.—Small levels of a very dark hue, 
which undergo no change, and may possibly be covered with 
forests of conifers! 2.—Numberless dark spots which acquire 
a deeper tone under the advancing light, among which he 
classes the Paludes Amare of Hevel, the very region we are 
now discussing. 38.—The grey plains, which gradually grow 
darker after sunrise, probably from the dispersion of a low 
mist. And besides these he noticed traces of another kind of 
lunar flora, requiring great attention to be perceived, reaching 
as far as 25° of N. latitude, and gradually creeping up the 
valleys among the mountains as the sun attains its greatest 
height. From all this he concludes that there is a lunar 
vegetation comprised between 65° N. and 55°S. latitude, most 
luxuriant near the equator, and preserving an analogy between 
increasing relative height and latitude similar to that which 
obtains on the earth, Our readers could not be much won- 


* Tt escaped B. and M, that near the Poles the sun’s altitude would never be 
sufficient to admit of a fair comparison. 


i 
- 


Oe 


Neighbourhood of the Lunar Spot, Mare Crisium. 361 


dered at if they were to consider this “ all moonshine,” nor 
would a closer acquaintance with the author increase their con- 
fidence in his judgment. But he had a very fine eye, and there 
may be hints here not to be despised. As to the general 
question of vegetation, no doubt a flora like our own could not 
exist under such very adverse conditions. But this would 
furnish no argument against the possibility of one adapted to 
its peculiar situation, and we must not omit to mention that 
one of our first authorities on this point, De la Rue, is inclined 
to favour such an idea from the circumstance that in the course 
of his photographic investigations he has found that parts of 
the moon, equal in apparent brightness, are by no means equal 
in actinic energy. ‘This indicates the presence, in certain 
situations, of rays not otherwise manifested, which are inca- 
pable of producing a photographic effect—such a result as 
might naturally be expected if those portions of the surface 
were clothed with vegetation. 

I have been repeatedly struck with the very singular aspect 
of this region under a high illumination, in its uncommon con- 
tour and sharply-defined intermixture of light and darkness ;. 
and I venture to think that a very careful study of it might 
probably be in some way ultimately rewarded. We have not, 
as far as | am aware, a single representation made on an ade- 
quate scale, and with sufficient accuracy, of the appearance of 
this district in the full moon, and the attempted delineation of 
B. and M. is scarcely so successful as the rough but charac- 
teristic draught given by old Hevelius, of what he calls his 
“ Paludes Amare.” This is in fact not surprismg. The object 
of Beer and Midler, as of Lohrmann before them, having been 
the delineation of the elevations and depressions of the surface, 
any adequate representation of those varied tones of grey and 
white, to which the term “local colour” may be conveniently 
though not very correctly applied, and which are so strangely 
unconformable with the actual relief, would have been a simple 
impossibility. Hitherto the attention of selenographers has 
been, naturally enough, much more directed to the very intel- 
ligible relief than to the intricate and perplexing shadowing of 
the surface; and hence we do not as yet possess either special 
topographical delineations, or a general map of the full moon, 
at all corresponding with the present requirements of science.* 
A general chart would demand a great expenditure of time and 
labour, especially if the gradations of light are accurately repre- 
sented, without which it would be of little service ; but careful 
drawings of separate spots might be very advantageously un- 


* Russell’s, fifteen inches in diameter, published about 1797, is the best that I 
have seen, but it is rather a spirited sketch than a faithful likeness, 


362 Neighbourhood of the Innar Spot, Mare Crisiwm. 


dertaken by amateurs, and would be easily executed with a 
little skill in outline and shading: their comparison with views 
of the same objects in the relief of light and shade would be 
instructive, and they might in process of time acquire con- 
siderable importance as records of the present state of a surface, 


whose markings may perhaps be found not exempt from change. ~ 


But to return to the Paludes Amare, or Neper a** and its neigh- 
bourhood, as this region is styled by B. and M.: grey tracts of 
a similar character, but perfectly unconnected with these, and 
less extensive, are to be found at no great distance to the W. 
of the craters Hansen and Alhazen of B. and M. (see the dia- 
gram of the Mare Crisiwm); another of these streaks lies 
between the Alhazen of Schréter and Himmart; and B. and M. 
describe several less easily seen in the extreme foreshortening 
of the limb. 

The region between the S. end of the Mare Crisium and the 
equatorial limb of the moon, comprising the craters Neper and 
Schubert, has been very unsatisfactorily laid down by B. and 
M. The result of Mr. Birt’s revision of their work will in due 
time, we trust, be made public: in the mean while, as the 
requisite correction involves a still larger district lymg on the 
other side of the equator, we shall postpone our notice of it till 
it comes before us in the Fourth Quadrant. 

There is nothing of especial interest to the W. of the Mare 
Crisium. To the N. and NW. we meet with an elevated region, 
as extensive as Germany, so entirely filled with craters and 
ring-plains that the intervening mountain ridges are reduced 
to a position of very inferior importance, and appear to serve 
principally as means of communication, so to speak, between 
the more conspicuous features. Several of these latter we shall 
describe in detail. 

Oleomedes (No. 1 in the Index Map) is a fair specimen of 
the formation which has been at different times styled a Walled, 
Bulwark, or Ring Plain. This peculiar configuration of the 
surface differs from the crater chiefly in the level character of 
its interior, which is frequently little, if at all, depressed be- 
neath the surrounding neighbourhood. It appears to be the 
type towards which the larger and older craters approximate ; 
but it is difficult to obtain a clear or satisfactory idea of the 
mode of its original construction, or the stages through which 
it may have passed. We shall find, however, hereafter still 
more characteristic and better situated specimens than the one 
now before us. Cleomedes is about seventy-ecight miles in dia- 
meter, and of a rounded quadrangular form ; less dark than the 
Mare Urisium, and not everywhere of a uniform tint. | Schréter 
has noticed that it is deepest beneath the KH. wall, a peculiarity 

_® This letter in the map has more resemblance to a “d.”’ 


Neighbourhood of the Lunar Spot, Mare Crisitum. 863 


exhibiting itself, he says, in several other similar great plains, 
especially Grimaldi. The wall is very broad, and falls on each 
side in terraces—a mode of formation frequently recurring in 
lunar rings, and worthy of careful attention : it reaches a height 
on the W. side of about 8700 feet above the interior, rising 
on the H. side nearly 1000 feet higher, and, dividing in its 
course, encloses on the NH. a steep depression named T'ralles, 
lying no less than 13,700 feet beneath its H. boundary. Several 
of the neighbouring smaller craters are also, as Schréter has 
remarked in this and numerous other instances, deeper than 
the principal cavity with which they appear to be connected. 
Tt is a fact especially worthy of attention, that, as this observer 
has. pointed out, when one crater has encroached upon the 
boundary of another, so as to be obviously of subsequent date, 
the more recent is almost universally the smaller, as well as 
the deeper, either absolutely, or at least in proportion to its 
diameter. 

The area of Cleomedes contains several small objects. 
Schréter at first saw three, a low hill in the centre between 
two loftier objects, of which that to the S. might possibly be a 
crater, all reflecting an ordinary light of about 4° of intensity. 
Subsequently, under an angle almost precisely similar, he 
found the N. spot changed from a longish ridge to a crater of 
considerable size, and a brilliancy of not less than 7 or 8’, 
approaching that of Aristarchus, the brightest spot on the 
moon. In another lunation the ordinary-looking hill and its 
shadow reappeared. On another occasion he saw in this place 
both the ridge and two craters, the smaller of which had 6 of 
light, close to it; and subsequently he found the larger crater 
grey instead of white, and a black shadow in both of them, 
especially the smaller one, though 6’ 40” to 7’ removed from the 
terminator, and though a neighbouring very deep crater (Ber- 
nouilli) had lost nearly all its shade—thus indicating extraor- 
dinary depth and steepness. He had been early persuaded, 
from many such observations, that “the existence of real acci- 
dental workings of nature, not dependent upon the different 
reflection of light, lies so evidently before our eyes, that if any 
one would desire a yet stronger conviction, he would do better 
to give up altogether the closer investigation of the lunar 
surface, since he (Schréter) did not believe that, with due 
regard to our shortsightedness, more obvious proofs were pos- 
sible ;” and he thinks it hence certainly demonstrated that 
these changes are partly atmospheric, depending upon the con- 
densations and clearings up of different seasons, and partly 
indicative of other unknown agencies working according to 
the peculiar nature of the surface. In this respect he calls 
attention to the variations in the colour of the area of Cleomedes, 


364 Neighbourhood of the Lunar Spot, Mare Crisium. 


at some times much brighter and more uniform than at others ; 
this, he says, may partly arise from a different angle of reflec- 
tion, but is probably in part also atmospheric, resembling the 
periodical changes of weather in some portions of our globe. 
For, he argues, if reflection alone were concerned, why should 
the change extend uniformly over the whole breadth of the 
surface, instead of advancing across it by degrees? and why 
should not many other similar surfaces be similarly affected ? 
while, on the contrary, as a general rule, the greater spots pre- 
serve their colour invariable, whether bright or grey ; of which 
he alleges Copernicus and Plato as instances, and the large 
spots in the immediate vicinity of Cleomedes itself. He has 
also called attention to similar variations in the immediate 
neighbourhood of Cleomedes, especially between it and the 
Mare Crisiwm, where black shadows and grey patches among 
the mountains exhibited to him a strange inconstancy of aspect, 
even under similar angles of incidence and reflection of hight. 
As to all this, Beer and Midler would be at issue with their 
predecessor, and would resolve the whole affair into the effects 
of varied illumination. It is very probable that there may have 
been more in this than Schréter has allowed for; and as the 
question affects the labours of future selenographers, and may 
prove perplexing to the uninitiated student, it may be well to 
give some attention to it in this place. 


That apparent change of position in the lunar spots which is ° 


termed Libration, arises, as is well known, from two independent 
causes, and the whole effect is a combination of the results of each. 
Libration in longitude—which causes sometimes more of the E., 
sometimes more of the W., limb to come into sight, and throws 
the mean apparent centre of the moon at one time into the H., 
at another into the W. hemisphere—arises from the unequable 
velocity of the moon in its elliptic orbit, combined with its 
equable rotation on its axis, whence any given point on its sur- 
face will sometimes appear in advance of, sometimes behind, its 
mean position. This will, of course, alter the perspective pro- 
jection of all objects in an HE. and W. direction, affecting the 
equator most strongly, the poles not at all; while, as regards 
the direction of the incident solar light, and the corresponding 


amount of shadow, the result will be the same as if the globe of : 


the moon were swung slightly round its axis, backwards or for- 
wards, as the case may be, alternately on each side of its normal 
or mean position. The real length of the shadow will thus be 
a little varied, by turning the object somewhat to or from the sun, 
and its projected (or apparent) length, by turning it somewhat to 
or from the eye ; the former effect being greatest in the centre, 
and least near the limb, the latter greater at a distance of 45° from 
the centre than in either of those two positions. The extreme 


EE 


Neighbourhood of the Lunar Spot, Mare Crisiwm. 365 


amount of this libration in longitude may be 7°55’ each way. The 
other kind of libration, that im latitude, is of'a less simple nature, 
and its effect is not so readily allowed for. It arises from the 
fact, that the plane of the moon’s equator is coincident neither 
with that of the earth’s orbit nor its own. Were all these 
identical, the moon’s equator would always pass as an imaginary 
straight line across the centre of the disc, and the poles would 
stand exactly in the limb. But, as the moon’s orbit is inclined 
to the ecliptic at a mean 5° 8’ 49’, the lunar globe is carried, 
during each revolution, alternately above and below the level of 
the eye ; and hence the equator is sensibly straight only when 
the moon is in its node or passage across the ecliptic. At all 
other times it is projected, either upwards or downwards, into 
a narrow semi-ellipse of continually-varying dimensions cor- 
responding with the moon’s latitude, and each polar region in 
turn comes more into sight, or passes away into the invisible 
hemisphere. Such would have been the case from the inclination 
of the orbit, even had the plane of the moon’s equator been co- 
incident with, or parallel to, that ofthe ecliptic ; but, in addition 
to this, it is inclined to it at an angle of 1° 28’ 47”; so that 
the whole change in projection, ina N. and 8. direction, may 
amount at a maximum 6° 47’ on either side of the mean 
position. This has, of course, the same effect as the libration 
in longitude, m proportion to its amount, on the perspective 
foreshortening of the surface, though not, like that, in an H. 
and W., but im a N. and S. direction. On the contrary, it has 
no influence on the actual length of the shadows; though, from 
its allowing us to see sometimes more, sometimes less, of the fore- 
shortened interior of a crater or base of a mountain, there may be 
a little change in their visible extent. It has, however, an effect 
of some importance on the direction m which the shadows fall. 
We have been referring only to the angle under which we 
view the surface—in other words, the angle of reflected light ; 
but the angle of incident light has also to be considered, since 
it also varies, though to a less degree. The deviation of the 
moon on either side of the ecliptic, is, in this case, less im- 
portant, the 380-fold distance of the sun rendering its angular 
amount there so much less than it subtends at the earth ; but 
the inclination of the lunar equator to the ecliptic, as seen from 
the sun, produces the full effect of its angular value; and the 
moon’s axis being tilted at one time towards, at another from 
the sun, the direction of the incident light will be varied in the 
same way, though by no means in so great a degree, as in the 
different seasons upon the earth; the sun will not rise and set 
at precisely the same points of the lunar horizon, or attain ex- 
actly the same meridian altitude; and hence, the appearance of 
objects may be much varied, especially of such as he nearly in 


366 Neighbourhood of the Lunar Spot, Mare Crisium. 


an E. and W. direction. For imstance, the face of a cliff 
may, from this cause, in one lunation be visible in feeble illu- 
mination ; in another, at the same age of the moon, it may be 
entirely darkened itself, and even cast a perceptible line of 
shade. Gruithuisen pointed out the effect thus produced on 
the dimensions of the shadow of the lunar Apennines, but 
it seems not to have been duly allowed for by Schroter. 

While the direction both of incident and reflected light 
is thus continually changing from the combined effect of the 
two librations, it is easy to see how optical illusions may be 
of continual occurrence, and how objects whose diversified 
planes and angles render their aspect peculiarly dependent 
upon the mode of illumination, may often exhibit themselves 
in a strangely altered guise; and the fact that even the 
marina and minima of libration are subject to some amount 
of change, although slght, from the peculiarly variable 
character of the lunar orbit, introduces still greater difficulty 
into the attempt to eliminate, from observed appearances, 
this fruitful source of uncertainty and deception. 

The student will, it is hoped, regard with indulgence this 
disquisition, which has extended itself far beyond the original 
intention, and which goes in part over ground traversed upon 
a former occasion. ‘lio some readers it may appear very un- 
interesting. But, as far as I have observed, the differing 
character and combined result of the two lbrations have not 
been fully and distinctly elucidated in the ordinary treatises 
on elementary astronomy, though it is of especial importance 
that the subject should be clearly understood by the seleno- 
graphical student: in no other way can he form a just notion, 
from his own observations, of the probability of actual change 
in progress on the lunar surface, or of its being subject to 
atmospheric obscuration ; and in no other way could we expect 
to bring to any satisfactory conclusion a comparison of the 
labours of our predecessors. In the present, as in mahy another 
instance, B. and M. challenge the supposed variations of 
Schréter. On the grounds just assigned, implied rather than 
distinctly explained by them, their position may be defended, 
that the alleged changes may be accounted for without the 
supposition of physical alteration. On the other hand, in 
behalf of Schréter’s idea, his own argument may be adduced, 
that such merely optical effects must be confined within narrow 
limits, or the whole surface would appear to be in a state 
of fluctuation and uncertainty, and changes would supervene 
in the course of a few hours’ observation ; experience showing, 
on the contrary, a great and general uniformity, which renders 
the occasional exceptions the more remarkable : to which may 
be added that all such variations must be periodical, and would 


Neighbourhood of the Lunar Spot, Mare Crisium. 367 


ultimately compensate themselves under the eye of a patient 
observer :—the epoch of mean libration returning almost — 
exactly at the end of every three years. So that at present 
the decision of this curious question may perhaps be considered 
as In abeyance: if we are forced to conclude that Schréter 
was often mistaken from not sufficiently adverting to the 
effects of libration, or from his imperfect mode of measuring it, 
we may ourselves occasionally err on the other side, and only 
impede fair and full investigation, by ascribing everything 
which we do not know how to account for to this cause alone. 

To return in conclusion to Cleomedes, the original source of 
all this discussion. The objects in the interior specified by 
B. and M. are, a central hill, 6° bright in the full moon, but not 
very distinguishable under oblique illumination: it is not 
evident whether this is the same with the hill described by 
Schréter, or whether what he saw was a part of the ring of a 
small crater (B in the map of B. and M.), a little S. of it: 
three deep craters equally luminous in the darker 8. part, of 
which the map shows but two, that furthest S. lying, where 
Schroter once perceived it, at the foot of the wall :—and in the 
N. part three somewhat larger, that in the W. 8° bright and very 
conspicuous, but, as even these advocates of unchangeableness 
are obliged to admit, not always equally defined, in the full moon. 

Gruithuisen tells us that, 1825, April 6, he saw distinctly in 
the W. part of the interior of Cleomedes elevations resembling 
long straight hills, including several rhombus-shaped spaces 
between them. These rapidly became invisible, and he 
thought the appearance indicative of something artificial, per- 
haps connected with cultivation. His figure, as engraved by 
Bode, represents between the W. wall and the central hill, 
which is double and casts a long shadow across half the plain 
to the WSW. (thus showing the libration at the time), an 
object of considerable size, like a lozenge in heraldry ; in fact, 
a foreshortened square lying obliquely, subdivided into four 
similar spaces by a cross-bar each way. But Gruithuisen him- 
self condemns it as an unsuccessful representation. 

In an old sketch of my own, 1849, April 26, the central 
hill is also represented as distinctly double; and there are two 
craters to the N. as in Schréter, the larger one having, as he 
has described it, a small elevation in the midst of its grey 
- interior. I have not yet examined Cleomedes with my present 
instrument. 

On a mountain plateau, a little to the left of this great 
ring, B. and M. describe a crater between four and five miles 
across, on whose wall another of one-third its diameter has 
encroached. ‘This latter is worthy of notice, as being appa- 
rently deeper than it is broad. 


368: On the Herring. 


TRANSITS OF JUPITER'S SATELLITES. 

June 6th. Shadow of II. departs, 10h. 13m. 7th, I. 
enters, 12h. 20m. ; its shadow, 12h. 56m. 9th. Shadow of II. 
goes off, 9h. 37m. 13th. Shadow of II. enters, 10h. 27m. ; 
II. goes off, 11h.20m. 16th. I. departs, 10h. 45m. ; its 
shadow, llh. 31m. Shadow of III., 11h. 33m. (an interesting _ 
conjuncture ; the two shadows will appear on the disc together, — 
that of III. being distinguishable by its larger size and slower 
motion, and they will pass off nearly at the same time). 20th. 
II. enters, 11h. 20m. 28rd. III. enters, 9h. 49m.; I. follows, 
10h. 21m.; shadow of L., 11h. 14m.; III. goes off, 11h. 52m. ; 
its shadow not entering till 13h. 22m. 


OCCULTATIONS. 
June 11th. p* Leonis, 6 mag., 10h. 38m.to 11h. 37m. 
17th. w' Scorpii, 44 mag., 12h, 27m. to 13h. 34m. 


ON THE HERRING. 


BY W. NEWTON MACCARTNEY, COR. SEC. G.N. 8. 


Tue history of the Clupea harengus is but imperfectly known, 
our information comprising only a few more easily observed 
facts, while those habits which would assist us in the preserva- 
tion and cultivation of the herring-fishery have as yet escaped 
our notice. What has been discovered is only the foundation 
for future efforts, which, if conducted systematically, cannot fail 
to produce valuable results. While our information concerning 
some of the lower forms of life is so complete, it is to be re- 
gretted that our knowledge of the herring is so meagre, for we 
lay ourselves open to the cui bono of the utilitarian, who, ever 
ready to pounce upon the naturalist, demands why we spend 
time unravelling the generation of the medusve, the animality of 
the zoophytes, and other questions, to the neglect of those 
which, like the habits of the herring, have a greater interest, 
and are of more economic value. As yet, it must be confessed, 
deep mystery hangs over such questions as the age, season of 
spawning, and many other habits of the herring, which, for the 
public good, should be cleared up and set at rest, for measures 
taken in ignorance may result in the extermination of a most 
important and valuable fishery. 

The herring is placed among the Physostomes, with the 
salmon, cod, eel, and other fishes, because the air-bladder and 
stomach are joined by means of an air-tube passing from the 
one to the other. It belongs to the order of Malacopterous 
fishes, which have their fins supported by flexible and branched 


On the Herring. - 3869 


jointed rays, and are possessed of comb-like gills, with very 
large gill orifices. The most important family in this order is 
the Clupeoid, embracing the herring, sprat, whitebait, pilchard, 
_ and anchovy, with many more fishes, largely made use of for 
food. 

The herring is exclusively an old-world fish, being confined 
to the coasts of Britain and Hurope, but never found on those 
of America. It congregates in large shoals, swimming near 
the surface of the water, and, because of its numbers, has re- 
ceived the specific name of harengus, which, according to Artidi, 
is the latinized form of the German word “ harimg ’’—a host. 
From observations made on its growth, we are disposed to 
believe that it is found in four conditions; or, in other words, 
it has four names for its various stages of growth. The fry, 
which are small, minute fish newly escaped from the egg, retain 
this name till they reach the second stage, when they measure 
from five to six inches in length, and are then called maties. 
While maties, there is a large deposition of fat surrounding the 
alimentary canal, which is stored up for the use of the individual 
during the breeding season. While in the matie form, the repro- 
ductive organs are but slightly developed, but as they become 
full herrings, which is the name for the third change, the stored 
fat becomes absorbed, and by some is thought to assist in the 
development of the ova, which, in the full herring, attains its 
fullest growth, and is then shed or deposited. 

After the performance of this function, the fish is sickly 
and weak, and is then called a shotten or spent fish. These 
four, the fry, matie, full, and spent, comprise the changes which 
the herring undergoes from its escape from the egg till its per- 
formance of the reproductive function. While passing through 
these changes, it moves from deep to shallow water, according 
to the season of the year and the requirements of nature. The 
older writers believed that the herring was only a visitant to 
our shores, coming in great “sculls,” or shoals, from the Arctic 
seas to spawn upon our shallows, and after circumnavigating 
our islands, journeying back to their icy houses in the northern 
ocean. Pennant, unable to account for them after they left the 
spawning-beds, considered they must have returned to the 
Arctic seas, ‘in order to recruit themselves after the fatigue of 
spawning.” He never took into account the exertion and 
labour of a journey due north, nor the difficulty of getting suffi- 
cient food in the ice-bound seas around Spitzbergen. We have 
the testimony of Arctic explorers that the herring is compara- 
tively rare in the north; and, above all, we kuow that they 
never leave our seas, but remain in deep water not far from the 
‘spawnine-beds. 

The fry, after leaving the egg, move about on the shallow 


370 On the Herring. 


spawning-eround till they attain a few inches in size, and then 
they take to the deep water near the shore, where they find 
abundance of small crustacea and animalculz on which they feed 
and become fat maties. ‘They then change into full herrings, 
and leave the deep sea, approaching the shore where it is suit- 
able for spawning, and there, in great numbers, one shoal above_ 
another, extending for many miles, they begin to shed the 
spawn, which falls to the bottom, and, being of a sticky nature, 
clings to the stones, and there remains, unless disturbed by 
storms or trawls, till the young fry burst the egg. The spent 
fish then leave the shallow water, and seek rest and food in the 
deep waters far beyond the reach of the net. 

How long the herring takes in passing through these 
changes, and becoming an adult fish, isnot known. Some think 
two, and others as many as Seven years are required. 

We are not disposed, for various reasons, to agree with 
these observers, for we consider that all the time required is 
not more than one year. When we consider that each shoal of 
fish affects a certain specified part of the sea, never spawning 
except on the “family ground,” we cannot account for the 
plenty of one year and the scarcity of the next, except by the 
theory that they pass from the ova to the adult im one year. If 
we compare the ages and charges of a herring with those 
of a salmon, we think that the following estimate of the 
herring’s age will be tolerably exact :—two weeks for the pro- 
duction of the fry from the egg, three months to become a 
matie, four months to feed and fatten into a full fish, and two 
months to develope the ova and to shed it, thus making ten 
months from leaving the egg till it becomes a shotten herring 
ready to retire into deep water, there to become again a full 
herring, and thus for years returning to spawn, if it is lucky 
enough to escape the enemies which are always ready to devour 
and destroy it. 

The enemies of the herring are legion. Codfish, hakes, eels, 
and porpoises pursue it beneath the waves. Razorbills, gannets, 
and gulls watch its progress from above, and man, provided with 
implements, does his utmost to capture and destroy it. Such 
havoc is made by the fish among the spawn and fry that only 
one fish in every six thousand eggs comes to maturity; yet, 
with such a waste, the numbers remain as great as ever, for 
each full fish deposits about seventy thousand eggs; so that 
there is every probability, if the fishing is rightly conducted, of 
plenty continuing to all time. 

The fish are said to be sometimes erratic in their tastes, 
affecting one spawning ground for many years, and then for- 
saking it. Pennant considered they became dissatisfied with 
the beds, and thus left them, but the true reason is the illegal 


On the Herring. orl 


and suicidal means which have been used for their capture, 
resulting in overfishing of the herring and the destruction of the 
spawn. When trawling is practised, great damage is done to 
the spawn, and the net bemg drawn through a “scull,”? or 
shoal of the fish, breaks what is called the “eye” of the fish, or, 
im other words, scatters the shoal, and frightens them from 
their usual haunts. 

Pennant was wrong in supposing that the one shoal of her- 
ring visited various spawning-beds, for every fish-curer knows 
well that the fish frequenting one lcch or bay is different from 
those spawning ten miles distant. In fact, the fish can be dis- 
tinguished as Lochfynes or Stornoways with perfect ease, thus 
proving beyond doubt that they have but a local range, and 
‘return to spawn on the same shallows they formerly frequented. 

These spawning-beds are well known to the fishers, who 
often use illegal means to compass the capture of the spawning 
fish by employing trawl-nets, which, dragged over the mass of 
Spawning and gravid fish, tears up the spawn and entangles 
‘great quantities of the fish. 

The spawn torn from the bottom is driven by the tide ashore, 
-and, consequently, rendered useless. The trawl compasses the 
capture of the sickly, weak, and unhealthy fish, and renders 
them unfit for preservation. 

Trawling is made illegal on the west coast of Scotland, yet 
there are many who risk their property in the pursuit ; and as 
there is both excitement and profit in the work, all the efforts 
as yet made have been unsuccessful in putting an end to it. 
-The peculiar mode of fishing adopted by the trawlers is as 
follows :—A net, about one hundred yards in length, with 
meshes of three-quarters of an inch in size, 1s supplied with 
corks on one edge and heavy weights on the-other, and this is 
attached by the extreme ends to two boats, one of which remains 
stationary over the spawning-bed, while the other describes a 
circle round it, returning close to the side of its consort. By 
this act, the net which has sunk to the bottomis dragged round 
myriads of the spawning fish and enclosed. The net is now 
raised to the surface, and the fish taken on board, when, with 
_ sail and oar, the boat makes for the harbour, there to dispose of 

the ill-gotten gains for a good round sum, because the first of 
the market is gained, as the drift-net fishers are not able to get 
into port till on in the day. 

When the trawlers come ashore, large quantities of spawn 
is found in the boat, and, according to good authority, many 
tons are cast ashore after the trawl has been in operation. 
Couch bears testimony to the destruction caused by the trawl, 
and fears for the ultimate value of our fisheries. 

To understand the drift-net fishing, we will, as the night 

VOL. V.—NO. V. ca 


372 On the Herring. 


approaches, slip on board a fishing craft, and spend a night at 
the sea. As the sun sinks beneath the western hills we leave 
the shore, our sails are unfurled, and our boat dashes out to sea. 
The fishers watch for signs of the herring, which are easily 
noticed, for yonder the gulls and gannets are in plenty, wheel- 
ing in the air, and then dashing into the sea, emerging with a ~- 
clupea for supper. ‘The herring are there in plenty, and to 
that place our course is shaped. As we approach, a faint 
phosphorescence is noticeable on the waters, caused by the pre- 
sence of the herring “scull.” Here, then, we begin to shoot 
our nets, which are in lengths of 800 to 2000 yards, having 
meshes of one inch. The net, as it is passed over the stern of 
the boat, has small corks along the upper edge, with here and 
there large bladders, which keep it above the surface, while the 
lower and under part sinks to a depth of eight yards. When 
all the net is out, the boat is allowed to drift, with the net 
attached. When morning breaks the net is hauled in, the 
fish unmeshed, and then the boat is turned harbourwards, with 
her cheeping cargo—for the fish emit a sound similar to that— 
and we arrive just as the sun rises above the eastern hills, 
gilding with glory the rippling waves. The drift-net allows 
the fish to entangle themselves—no force is used, and the shoals 
of fish are not disturbed, for, while the fish are moving about 
during the night they come against the meshes, and in their 
efforts to pass on get caught by the gill covers, and are cap- 
tured. The herring caught in the drift-net are all healthy, lively 
herring, because only these swim near the surface. They are, 
therefore, “halesome faring,” while those taken by the trawl 
are unfit for human food. 

Herring can be caught by means of bait, and they often 
rise to an artificial fly; but the formation of their gills, and 
the tenderness of their mouth, renders their capture difficult. 

We have made mention of the fish leaving some spawning- 
beds, and staying away for many seasons. The fisher thinks 
they are scared by noise; and in Scotland, in olden times, no 
cannon was allowed to be fired during the time of spawning. 
It is said that the herring forsook the Baltic after the battle of 
Copenhagen, and are only now returning to their former — 
haunts. 

Lately an outcry arose against burning kelp and running 
steamboats, as the smoke of the one and the noise of the other 
scared the fish away; but the most wonderful reason given 
for their disappearance is that mentioned by a Member of 
Parliament, in 1835, before the House of Commons. He said 
that the herring had deserted the coasts near the residence of 
a priest who had signified his intention of taking tithes of fish. 

In concluding this brief sketch of the herring and its 


Comets. 3738 


history, we cannot forget to draw attention to the recent 
inquiry made by the Royal Commissioners. Much valuable 
information has been gained by it concerning this important 
fishery ; and it is to be hoped that the exposure of our igno- 
rance will result in some experiments being made to discover 
the true answers to such questions as those we have mooted in 
this paper. 

We think that a series of experiments.similar to those made 
upon the salmon would be of great use. We are aware of 
some who are willing to aid, both with time and money, mm 
conducting such experiments; and, in our opinion, till such is 
done, the herring will be as great a mystery as the salmon 
was. 


COMETS. 
AN ACCOUNT OF ALL THE COMETS WHOSE ORBITS HAVE NOT BEEN CALOULATED. 


BY G. F. CHAMBERS. 
(Continued from page 221, vol. v.) 


840 [1.] On December 3 a comet was seen in the H. coun- 
try.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) . 

841 [i.] Before the battle of Fontenay (that is, before June 
25), a comet was seen in Sagittarius.—(Annal. Fuld.) In 
July or August a comet was seen near y Aquariii—(Ma- 
tuoan-lin.) 

841 [i1.] On December 22 a comet was seen near « Piscis 
Australis ; it passed through Pegasus into the circle of perpe- 
tual apparition. On February 9, 842, it had disappeared.— 
(Gaubil.) It was seen in the W.from January 7 till February 
138.—(Chron. Turon.) . T 

852. In March—April a comet appeared in Orion.—(Ma- 
tuoan-lin.) 

855. A comet was seen in France for three weeks.— 
(Chronicon 8S. Mawentit.) Perhaps in the month of August. 
857. On September 22 a comet with a tail 3° long was 

seen in Scorpio.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

858. At the time of the death of Pope Benedict III.a comet 
appeared in the H.; its tail was turned towards the W.—(Ptole- 
meus Lucensis, Historia Heclesiastica, xvi. 9.) Benedict died 
on April 8. 

864, On May 1 acomet was seen.—(Chronicon Floriacense.) 
On June 21 a comet was seen to come from the BE. It was 
near « and § Arietis, and had a tail 3° long.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

866. Comets were seen before the death of Bardas,—(Con- 


374 Coiets. 


stantinus Porphyrogennetus, Incerti Continuatoris, iv.) Bardas 
was killed on April 21. 

868. About January 29 a comet was seen for seventeen 
days. It was under the tail of the Little Bear, and advanced 
to Triangulum.—(Annal. Fuld.) It was seen in China in the 
sidereal divisions of y Arietis and « Muscee.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) ~~ 

. 869. A comet announced the death of Lotharius the 
Younger.—(Pontanus, Historia Gelrica,v.) Lotharius died on 
August 8. In September a comet was observed near y, «, 9, T, 
Persei. It went to the N.H.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

873. A comet was seen in France for twenty-five days.— 
(Chronicon Andegavense.) 

875. The death of the Emperor Louis II. was announced 
by a burning star like a torch, which showed itself on June 7 
inthe N. It was seen from June 6 in the N.E. at the first 
hour of the night. It was more brilliant than comets usually 
are, and had a fine tail. This bright comet, with its long tail, 
was seen morning and evening during the whole of June.— 
(Breve Chronicon Andree.) - After harmonizing some discrepan- 
cies of dates, Pingré says, ‘The comet would have appeared 
on June 3 in Aries; having but little latitude, it would con- 
sequently have risen a little after midnight, and would have 
been seen that same night. ‘The following days, as its longi- 
tude diminished, and its north latitude increased, it would have 
been seen by June 6 or June 7, in the evening, towards the 
N.E.— (Comet. 1. 349.) 

877. ‘In the second year of the entrance of Charles the 
Bald into Italy a comet was seen in the month of March in the 
W. and in the constellation Libra. It lasted for fifteen days, 
but was less bright than the preceding one [that of 875]. In 
the same year the Emperor Charles died.””—(Chronicon Novali- 
ciense.) Being in Libra, it was in opposition to the Sun, and was 
therefore visible all night ; in the evening in the EH. and in the 
morning in the W.—(Pingré Comet. i. 350.) Ma-tuoan-lin says 
that it appeared in the fifth Moon, or in June—July. 

882. bn January 18, at the first hour of the night, a comet 
with a prodigiously long tail was seen.—(Annal. luld.) 

885. A comet was seen between a or 7 Persei and « Gemi- 
norum.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

886. On June 13 a comet was seen in the sidereal divisions 
of uw’ Scorpii and y Sagittarii. It traversed Ursa Major and 
Bootis, near o and 7.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

891. On May 12 a comet with a tail 100° long appeared 
near the feet of Ursa Major; it went towards the HE. It 
passed by a Bootis, and went into the vicinity of 8 Leonis. 
On July 5 it had disappeared.—(Ma-tuoan-lin; J. Asserius. 
Annales.) 


Interary Notices. 379 


892 [i.] A comet appeared this year in the tail of Scorpio. It 
lasted four weeks, and was followed by an extreme drought in 
April and May.—(Chron. Andegav.) In June a comet with a 
tail 2° long appeared.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 

892 [u.] In November—December a comet appeared im 
the sidereal divisions of @ Sagittarii and 8 Capricorni.—(Ma- 
tuoan-lin.) 

892. [ii.] On December 28 a comet appeared in the S.W. 
On December 31, the sky being cloudy, it was not seen.— 
(Ma-tuoan-lin.) This may be identical with the preceding. 

893. After several months of very bad weather, the clouds 
went away, and on May 6 a comet was seen near s and x 
Ursee Majoris, with a tail 100° long. It went towards the H., 
entered the region lying around 6 Leonis, and traversed Bodtis 
near Arcturus, passing the region around a Herculis. It was 
visible for six weeks, and its leneth gradually increased to 200°. 
The clouds then hid it.—(Ma-tuoan-lin.) The length is incredi- 
ble, though Gaubil gives the same. 

894. In February—March a comet was seen in Gemini.— 
(Ma-tuoan-lin.) 


LITERARY NOTICES. 


On THE STRUCTURE OF THE SO-CALLED APoLAR, UNIPOLAR, AND TRI- 
pouaR Nerve Cents or THE Frog. By Lionut 8. Bzazs, F.R.S. etc., 
etc. Trans. Royal Soc., xxvi. 

On Dericrency or Virat Powsr in Disnass. By Lionen S. Beare, 
M.D., F.R.S., etc. (Richards). 

First Prinorpies. Ibid. 

. ArcHives or Mepicrins, Epirep sy Lionen §. Beats, vol. iv. 
(Churchill). 

The first of these publications would alone secure for Dr. Beale 
a foremost place amongst physiological microscopists. The plates 
are beautiful illustrations of a series of investigations truly wonder- 
ful for the care and skill with which they have been carried out. 
They are as much an honour to the microscopical science of our 
country, as they are proofs of the highest order of talent for this 
class of research. We made a slight mention of this paper in our 
number for Sept. 1863, p. 148, and we now present the reader witha 
summary of the most important of its author’s conclusions :— 

‘1. That in all cases nerve cells are connected with nerve fibres, 
and that a cell probably influences only the fibres with which it is 
structurally continuous. 2. That apolar and unipolar nerve cells 
do not exist; but that all nerve cells have at least two fibres in 
connection with them. 3. That in certain ganglia of the frog there 
are large pear-shaped nerve cells, from the lower part of which two 
fibres proved a straight fibre continuous with the central part of the 


376 Literary Notices. 


body of the cell, and a fibre or fibres continuous with the circum- 
ferential part of the cell, which is coiled spirally round the straight 
fibre. 4. These two fibres often lying very near to, and in some 
cases, when the spiral is very lax, nearly parallel with each other, 
at length pass towards the periphery in opposite directions. 
5. Ganglion cells exhibit different characters, according to their 
age. In the youngest cells neither of the fibres exhibit a spiral 
arrangement: in fully formed cells there is a considerable extent of 
spiral fibre; but in old cells the number of coils is much greater. 
6. These ganglion cells may be formed in three ways, a, froma gran- 
ular mass, like that which forms the early condition of all struc- 
tures; b, by the division or splitting up of a mass like a single 
ganglion cell, but before the mass has assumed the complete and 
perfect form; c, by changes occurring in what appears to be the 
nucleus of a nerve fibre... . 8. There are nuclei in the body of 
thencell, . 2... 9. The matter of which the nucleus is composed 
has been termed by me germinal matter. From it alone growth 
takes place. .... 10. The nucleolus consists of germinal matter. 
.... 15. As nerve fibres grow old, the soluble matters are ab- 
sorbed, leaving a fibrous material which is known as connective 
tissue, and corresponding change is observed in other textures both 
in health and disease.” , 

We are very glad that the two lectures called ‘“ First Principles,” 
and “On Deficiency of Vital Power,’ have been published in a 
cheap pamphlet form, because, whatever doubt may attach to certain 
portions of Dr. Beale’s speculations, the facts which he adduces and 
very much of his reasoning appear to us essential to the right 
understanding of many highly important problems. Instead of 
vaguely telling his pupils that irritation excites inflammation, he 
shows that in a normal state what he terms “ germinal matter,” 
in living cells, receives and converts a regulated portion of nutri- 
ment from without. By softening the layer of what he terms 
“formed material,” which surrounds the germinal matter, or by 
tearing through the formed material, an abnormal quantity of 
pabulum is introduced, and an excessive action of the germinal 
matter takes place that is not consistens with the health of the 
organism of which the cells form a part. ‘The abnormal pus cor- 
puscle is produced from the germinal or living matter of a normal 
epithetial cell, in consequence of the germinal matter of this cell 
being supplied with pabulum much more freely than in the normal 
state.” 

In the other lecture Dr. Beale lays down the proposition that all 
living particles have sprung from pre-existing living matter. It 
cannot be said that we know this; but it may be true. “ Hach 
separate particle increases, not by particles already existing being 
applied to it, or coalescing with it, but by the passage of soluble 
matters into its very substance, and their conversion into matter of 
the same kind.” Arguing logically from the premisses we have 
extracted, Dr. Beale contends that pus cells, cancer cells, and so 
forth, exhibit a high, and not a low degree of vital activity. 

Disease often differs from health only in the too great activity 


Lnterary Notices. 377 


with which certain functions are performed, and he shows that 
alcohol, by hardening the outside layer of cells, diminishes the supply 
of nutriment that reaches the germinal matter, and thus checks the 
excess of action that is domg harm. 

Having assailed the sham explanations of ordinary physiologists 
about ‘“ diminution of vital force,” “ irritation,” etc., it is curious to 
find Dr. Beale reverting to the style of argument in which the 
purgative action of jalap was “explained,” by asserting that the 
drug possessed a “‘ cathartic principle ;” and yet this is done in a 
paper that will be found in the Archives of Medicine. Dr. Beale says, 
“Tt seems to me probable that the most minute living particle 
which it is possible to conceive, is a spherule, and this spherule is 
capable of altering its form. I believe that the alteration results 
from the influence of wonderful inferent powers, of the nature of 
which we know nothing as yet, which wonderful powers may at 
least for the present be termed ‘vital,’ to distinguish them from 
physical and chemical properties.” In another passage Dr. Beale 
says, “I have endeavoured to show that the power of movement 
resides in the living particles themselves, and have expressed the 
opinion that these movements cannot be explained by physics 
or chemistry.” In another paper the whole fabric of modern 
science, with its conservation and correlation of forces, is assailed 
to make way for the return of the old metaphysical assumption, 
“vital force,” which Dr. Beale affirms to be something quite 
distinct from chemical or physical force in any form. He com- 
plains that “vital power no longer excites the speculation of the 
physiologist or the wonder of the profound metaphysician;” but 
if it has ceased to do, it is simply because men have dis- 
covered that ‘vital force” is a phrase to cover ignorance, not a 
term denoting a precise thing. There is no special mystery in vital 
force, if it designates the power that is manifested in living beings. 
All force is equally mysterious. Scientifically we know nothing of 
the primary cause, origin, or action of any force whatever. We 
know that a certain force is, and we find out afew of its rela- 
tions of antecedence or consequence, and when we come to the 
highest actions we know of, those of mind and consciousness, we 
have not the faintest idea why or how the Divine Being has linked 
them, in our case, with what are called vital actions of an organism. 

When Dr. Beale states that living particles must possess an 
“inherent moving power,” we do not know what he means. Would 
they move under any conditions, and in any medium, as they do 
under particular conditions, and in a particular medium? If not, 
they are under the influence of surrounding circumstances, and 
their motions would appear to be, not an inherent faculty, but the 
result of their acting, and being acted upon, by matter external to 
themselves. Nothing is gained by assuming that they are governed 
by vital forces, “of the nature of which we know nothing,” to 
the exclusion of all the forces of which—so far as their manifesta- 
tions go—we know a little. It is because we admire Dr. Beale’s 
great talent, and appreciate his services, that we urge him not to 
tumble into the old quagmire of substituting imaginary metaphy- 


378 Interary Notices. 


sical entities like “vital force,” for more scientific methods of ex- 


plaining what he sees, or for what is often required, a simple con-. 


fession that the explanation is unknown. 


Lessons oN Exnementary Borany. By Daniet Ottver, F.R.S., 
F.L.S., Keeper of the Herbarium of the Royal Gardens, Kew, and 
Professor of Botany in University College, London (Macmillan and 
Co.).—In noticing the Memoirs of Professor Henslow in a former 
number, we adverted to his success as a botanical teacher of village 
children as well as of his Cambridge class. The present work is 
partly original, and partly founded upon the papers left by Professor 
Henslow, and it appears to us an invaluable introduction to the 
study of botanical science. It is very clearly written, and amply 
illustrated, leading the student on by an admirable method. As 
the object is to teach botany as a science, and not as a mere art of 
giving nicknames to vegetables, it will be highly appreciated by the 
possessors of microscopes, who will learn from it what they are to 
look for in accessible plants. It cannot be too strongly recom- 
mended to students and intelligent families. 


A Series or Szven Essays on Universat Science. By Toomas 
Crark Westrietp, F.S.A. (Hardwicke.)—The publication of this 
book is a mistake. The author should not have attempted a subject 
so far beyond his powers. 


Saxpy’s WeatHer System, or Lunar InrLueNce oN THE WEA- 
THER. By J. M. Saxpy, Hsq., R.N. Second Edition (Longmans). 
—Captain Saxby’s main dictum is, “‘ That the moon never seems to 
cross the earth’s equator without there occurring at the same time 
a palpable and unmistakeable change inthe weather. Such changes 
most commonly are accompanied either by strong winds, gales, 
sudden frost, sudden thaw, sudden calms,.or other certain inter- 
ruptions of the weather, according to the season.” The present 
volume contains many illustrations which the author considers to 
prove the truth of this principle, and concludes with numerous 
predictions for 1864 and 1865. 


Homes witnourt Hanps. By the Rev. J. G. Woop, M.A., F.L.S. 


(Longmans).—An interesting family work, published in monthly 
parts, with numerous and excellent illustrations. It is a good idea 
to give a popular and entertaining account of the various members 
of the animal kingdom remarkable for constructing “‘ Homes without 
Hands,” and Mr. Wood’s pleasant labours are sure to be welcome in 
thousands of homes constructed with hands. 


Lecture on tHE Sources or tun Nite. By Cnartes T. Bex, 
Esq., Phil. D., F.S.A., Manager of London Institution.—This lecture 
was first delivered at the London Institution on the 20th January, 
1864, and has since been repeated elsewhere, but not formally pub- 
lished, though printed by the London Institution Board of Manage- 
ment. Dr. Beke affirms that “ Captains Speke and Grant have 
returned from visiting three sides of Lake Nyanza, leaving wholly 
unexplored a blank space of 50,000 geographical square miles 
(larger in extent than the whole of England and Wales) on the 


a ———— 


Interary Notices. 379 


fourth and uphill side of the lake, where the sources of the river 
have naturally to be looked for.” 


Tur CLASSIFICATION OF THE ScrENCES; to which are added 
Reasons ror Dissenting From THE PuiosopHy or M. Comrs. By 
Hoersert Spencer, Author of “ First Principles,” “ Social Statics,” 
ete. Williams and Norgate. 


We cannot divert from our ordinary subjects enough space to 
do justice to Mr. Spencer’s important essay, in which he points out 
where his philosophy differs from that of Comte, to whom we think 
he is scarcely just. M. Comte made a serious mistake in attempt- 
ing to construct a system in which an intelligent First Cause had no 
place; and when he tried to imagine a kind of theology that would 
supply the defect, he resorted to speculations of the most unsatis- 
factory kind. We believe, however, that he has exercised a very 
beneficial influence over modern thought through the truth and 
utility of many of his ideas. His classification of the sciences was 
certainly imperfect; but this was partly occasioned by the fact 
that there are really no palpable lines of demarcation, one science 
merging into another at several points. Mr. Spencer’s labours 
supply valuable material for hard, accurate thinking upon this 
subject ; but we do not believe his classification will satisfy many © 
minds. We should, however, be unjust if we did not admit the 
skill with which he has developed his ideas. 


THe PrincreLEs or AGRICULTURE. By Witiiam Brann, M.R.A.S., 
Author of “ Principles of Construction in Arches, Piers, Buttresses, 
etc.” Second Edition. (Longmans.)—Mr. Bland is well known in 
Kent as an eminent authority upon agricultural questions, and he 
has also distinguished himself by displaying great mechanical inge- 
nuity in various departments, boat-building among the rest. The 
first edition of the present work has been long out of print, and the 
new one, which is somewhat enlarged, and brought down to date, 
gives the results of experience in a manner that cannot fail to be 
useful to agriculturists. Mr. Bland’s practical knowledge seems 
to us in advance of his theoretical acquirements; but the reader 
who gains a large amount of information from his pages, will not be 
disposed to cavil if, for example, he finds the word “ fermentation” 
used in a manner that is not very clear. It is important to notice 
Mr. Bland’s opinions on landlords and leases. He thinks “the 
tenant should be allowed full scope to do what he pleases till within 
the last three years of his lease,” and that at the expiration of the 
lease the landlord should make an allowance for all improvements. 


380 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—April 27. 


Discovery or Fish in Upper Limestone or Permian Jorma-- 
TION.—Mr. Kirkby communicated an account of the discovery of fish 
remains in the upper limestone of the Permian formation. The 
strata were exposed in some quarries ; the bed from which the fish 
remains were chiefly obtained was that which is known as the 
** Flexible Limestone.” 

The author stated that at least nine-tenths of the specimens belong 
to Paleoniscus varians, the remainder belonging to two or three 
species of the same genus, and to a species of Acrolepis. Detailed 
descriptions of the different species of fish were given, as also were 
short notices of the species of plants sometimes found associated with 
them, one of which he believed to be Calamites aranaceus, a Triassic 
species. The occurrence of Palconisct with smooth scales was stated 
to be antagonistic to Agassiz’s conclusion that the Permian species 
of that genus have striated, and the Coal-measure species smooth 
scales. Mr. Kirkby remarked that the fauna of the period appeared 
to be of an Estuarine character, and he expressed his opinion that 
the fishes were imbedded suddenly, as a result of some general 
catastrophe. : 

Tue Fossiz Corats or THE West Inpran Istanps. By Mr. P. Martin 
Duncan.—The results of the process of fossilization, as seen in the 
West Indian fossil corals, is very remarkable, and has much obscured 
their specific characters, rendering their determination extremely 
difficult. Hence it is desirable thoroughly to examine their different 
varieties of mineralization, and to compare their present condition 
with the different stages in the decay and fossilization of recent 
corals as now seen in progress. Thus the author was enabled to 
show the connection between the destruction of the minuter struc- 
tures of the coral by decomposition, and certain forms of fossilization 
in which those structures are imperfectly preserved ; and he likewise 
stated that the filling up of the interspaces by granular carbonate of 
lime and other substances, as well as the induration of certain species, 
during a “ pre-fossil” and “ post-mortem” period, gave rise to 
certain varieties of fossilization, and that the results of those opera- 
tions were perpetuated in a fossil state. 

The forms of mineralization described by Dr. Duncan are— 
Calcareous, Siliceous, Siliceous and Crystalline, Siliceous and 
Destructive, Siliceous Casts, Calcareo-siliceous, Calcareo-siliceous 
and Destructive, and Calcareo-siliceous Casts. 

In describing these forms especial reference was made to those 
in which the structures were more or less destroyed during the 
replacement by silica of the carbonate of lime of the coral. 

In explaining the nature and mode of formation of the large 
casts of calices from Antigua, the author drew attention to the fact 
that the silicification is more intense on the surface and in the 
centre of the corallum than in the intermediate region ; and, when 


9 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. ' 381 


examined microscopically, it could be seen that the replacement of 
the carbonate of lime began by the silica appearing as minute points 
in the centre of the interspaces and of the sclerenchyma, and not on 
their surface. In conclusion, the influence of all the forms enume- 
rated above in the preservation of organisms was discussed, and the 
relation of hydrated silica to destructive forms of fossilization was 
pointed out as being one cause of the incompleteness of the geologi- 
cal record. 


May 11. 


Mammatian Remains near Toame.—Mr. Codrington described a 
railway-cutting through a hill between Oxford and Thame which 
exposed a section of certain gravel-beds, from which many Mam- 
malian remains were collected. The hill is nearly surrounded by 
the Thame and two small tributaries, and consists of Kimmeridge 
clay capped by a bed of coarse gravel overlain by sandy clay. The 
gravel consists of chalk-flints, pebbles derived from the Lower Green- 
sand, and fragments of mica-schist, etc., indicating a northern-drift 
origin ; it contained many bones of Elephant, Rhinoceros, Horse, 
Ox, and Deer, anda single phalanx of a small carnivore, but no flint 
implements were discovered. 

Depostr at Srroup conramninc Fuint Imerements, Lanp anp 
FresHwater SHELLS, erc.—In the construction of a reservoir near 
the summit of the hill above the town of Stroud, Mr. E. Witchell 
observed, about two feet from the surface, a deposit of tufa contain- 
ing land-shells with a few freshwater bivalves; in it he subsequently 
discovered several flint flakes of a primitive type, and in the over- 
lying earth a few pieces of rude pottery. The deposit is situated on 
the spur of a hill nearly separated from the surrounding country by 
deep valleys; Mr. Witchell considered it to be comparatively recent, 
end concluded that it had been formed in a pond or lake, which had 
been caused by alandslip from the higher ground, producing a dam 
that stopped the downflow into the valley of the water of the neigh- 
bouring springs. 


ROYAL, INSTITUTION.—May 6. 


Tue Propertizs or tHE New Mrrat Inpium.—Professor Roscoe 
gave a lecture on the characters of this metal, which has recently 
been discovered by Reisch and Richter in the Zinc blende of Frei- 
berg, by means of the spectroscope. Indium is distinguished by 
having a spectrum consisting of two bright indigo-coloured lines, 
and by its compounds tinting the colourless flame of a Bunsen 
burner of a violet colour. 

Hitherto indium has only been obtained in very minute quantity 
from the Freiberg blende, consequently its properties and com- 
pounds have not been very carefully examined. It appears closely 
to resemble zinc, with which it has hitherto always been found in 
combination. It is, however, a softer metal, marking paper like 
lead; it is readily soluble in hydrochloric acid, and, heated in the 


382 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


open air, it oxidizes freely, yielding a white oxide easily reducible 
before the deoxidizing flame of the blow-pipe. 

The hydrated oxide is precipitated from its salts by potash and 
ammonia, but is insoluble in excess of either of these re-agents ; 
hence it is easily distinguished from both zinc and alumina. 


The oxide may be separated from oxide of iron, with which itis - 


associated in the zinc blende by precipitating the latter with bicar- 
bonate of soda. The precipitated sulphide is insoluble in alkalies. 
The quantity of indium salts exhibited by Professor Roscoe consisted 
of about three grains; with these he succeeded in demonstrating its 
properties, and exhibited the characteristic indigo spectrum in a 
very striking manner. 

Professor Roscoe also alluded to the new discoveries made with 
the spectroscope. Cesium and rubidium have been found to exist 
in many articles of human consumption, such as beet-root sugar, 
tea and coffee. Thallium has been found in many minerals in which 
its presence was hitherto unsuspected, and to occur also in Very 
appreciable quantity in molasses, the yeast of wine, chicory, and 
even in tobacco. 

A new and comparatively abundant source of these three rare 
metals, cesium, rubidium, and thallinm, has been discovered; the 
water of a spring near Frankfort leaves on evaporation a saline 
residue which contains the three metals in appreciable quantity. 

Recently a more attentive examination of the rays emitted by 
the sun’s photosphere has been made, and it is found that it exhibits 
no trace of potassium salts. Hence that element may be regarded 
as being absent from the solar atmosphere. 

The spectrum of burning magnesium has been found to be par- 
ticularly rich in chemical rays, and has consequently been used with 
success as a photographic light. Professqr.Roscoe stated that if the 
surface of burning magnesium has an apparent magnitude equal to 
that of the sun seen from a certain point, the chemical action effected 
by the magnesium on that point is equal to that produced by the sun 
when at an elevation of 9° 53. And that at a zenith distance of 67° 
22" the visible brightness of the sun’s rays is 5247 times that of burn- 
ing magnesium, whilst its chemical brightness is only 36°6 times as 
great as that of the burning metal; hence the great use of the latter 
in photography. A thin magnesium wire produces in burning as much 
light as seventy-four stearine candles, and to continue this light for 
ten hours, seventy-two grammes—about two ounces and a half—of 
magnesium must be burnt, corresponding in effect to twenty pounds 
of stearine candles. A magnesium lamp was exhibited, consisting 
of a coil of magnesium wire, which was gradually unwound and 
burnt as it issued from a glass tube. Magnesium wire of a size con- 
venient for burning is now manufactured by Mr. Sonstadt’s process, 
and sold at threepence per foot; the combustion of one inch of 
wire affording sufficient light to take a positive picture with dry 
collodion. During the lecture a negative of Professor Maraday was 
taken ; from this a transparent positive was printed by a few seconds 
exposure, and exhibited on the white screen by the electric lamp. 


ee 


OO a ee 


Notes and Memoranda. 3893 


ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.—May 9. 


A NEWLY-DISCOVERED LOW Pass over THE ANDES IN CHILI, SOUTH 
or VaLpivia.—Sir Woodbine Parish stated that Sefior Cox had 
undertaken this remarkable journey with a view to discover an easy 
route between the new Chilian settlements on the Pacific coast in 
40° and 41°S. lat. and the river Negro, which, eighty years ago, had 
been proved by Villarino, a Spanish explorer, to be navigable from 
the eastern side of the Andes to the Atlantic. He equipped an 
expedition at his own cost at Port Montt, a new German settlement, 
now containing 15,000 inhabitants, near the island of Chiloe, and 
proceeded in December, 1862, by way of the two lakes, Llanquilhue 
and Todos-os-Santos, towards the almost unknown inland sea of 
Naguel-huassi. He traversed the lakes by means of gutta-percha 
boats, and succeeded in discovering a pass over the Cordillera at an 
altitude of not more than 2800 feet. Arrived at the end of Lake 
Naguel-huassi (Lake of Tigers), which lies on the eastern side of the 
chain of the Andes, Seior Cox’s party found a broad stream issuing 
from it in the direction of the rivers which flow into the Atlantic. 
Seven of the sixteen persons who formed the expedition embarked 
in one of the boats and descended the river, which is called the 
Limay, and forms one of the affluents of the Rio Negro. The voyage 
was attended with great risks, owing to the numerous rapids. At 
length when within five miles of the point to which Villarino had 
attained in ascending the Rio Negro from the Atlantic, the boat was 
upset, and the party fell into the hands of a savage tribe of Pampas 
Indians encamped near the spot. The Cacique at length promised 
to assist Sefior Cox in reaching the Rio Negro on condition that he 
first went to Valdivia for presents. The re-crossing of the Cordillera, 
at a more northerly point, towards Valdivia, was accomplished with- 
out much difficulty: but the main object of Sefor Cox’s journey, 
namely, the opening of an easy passage across the Continent has 
been up to the present time frustrated by the hostility of the Indian 
tribes. 


NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 


Tur SurFace or tHE Sun.—Notwithstanding the statements of the Green- 
wich astronomers, the question of the rice grains or willow leaves on the solar 
surface is not considered to be settled. Mr. Wm. Huggins, who is an excellent 
observer, and possesses a fine telescope, denies that the solar surface consists of an 
interlacement of elongated particles, definite in shape, and uniform in size. He 
finds the brighter portions of every imaginable shape, and greatly differing in 
size. It certainly seems highly improbable that the monotony and uniformity of 
willow leaves or rice grains should be preserved in the face of a body that is 
proved by the behaviour of the spots to undergo violent changes. From the 
Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society (1864, No. 6), it will be seen that 
Mr, Dawes, who is universally admiited to be one of our finest observers, affirms 
that ‘the observations of Messrs. Stone and Dunkin have landed them precisely 
where he was sixteen years ago.” At that time he compared the bright particles 
scattered almost all over the sun to excessively minute fragments of porcelain ; 
but he doubted the appearance, and after four years more research, und the 


384 Notes and Memoranda. 


assistance of his own solar eye-piece, which permitted the use of a power of 400 
to 600, he arrived at the conviction that the “brilliant objects were merely 
different conditions of the surface of the comparatively large luminous clouds 
themselves, ridges, waves, hills, knolls, or whatever else they-might be called, 
differing in form, in brilliancy, and probably in elevation, and bearing something 
of the same proportion to the individual luminous clouds that the masses of the 
bright facule, as seen near the sun’s edge, bear to the whole disc of the sun.” 


Tuer CoMPANIONS OF Srrivs, TrvE AND Fatsy.—Mr. Dawes states, in Monthly 
Notices, that he has attained with his 84-inch object-glass distinct views of 
Alvon Clark’s Companion of Sirius. Angle of position, 84°'86, distance about 
10.” Mr. Lassell and Mr. Marth have also observed it at Malta, their measures 
of position ranged from 78°53 to 80°29, and their distances from 9’"21 to 10”-90. 
The little star appeared not a very small point, but deficient in briiliancy to 
Mr. Lassell, and when Mr. Dawes first saw it, he turned round his object-glass 
and eye-pieces to be certain it was a real star. His measures were only ap- 
proximate. Mr. Tempel, of Marseilles, has a letter in the Astron. Nachrichten, 
detailing his efforts to see the companions observéd by M. Goldschmidt with a 
telescope of about 4-inches. Mr. Tempel employed one of 48 lines, which he 
says is a little bigger than M. Goldschmidt’s, and of excellent performance on 
double stars. With this instrument, after many hours’ observation, he saw three 
companion stars with magnifications of 40 and 24. He saw them less plainly with 
60, and not at all with 80 and upwards. He saw similar appearances near 
Procyon, Capella, and 8 Orionis; in the latter case, in addition to the true com- 

anion. Careful experiment satisfied him that the appearances were false, and 
that Goldschmidt had been deceived in assigning additional companions to Sirius. 


Sizz anp FiecurEe oF THE HArtu.—The results obtained by our Ordnance 
Survey exhibit the earth as having an equatorial semi-diameter of 20,927,005 feet, 


and a polar semi-axis of 20,852,372 feet. The flattening Deine — sae ae 


Comparing arcs of the meridian measured in Hngland, France, Russia, Prussia, 

Hanover, Denmark, and India, the Ordnance Survey gives for the average of the 

globe— 

Semi-equatorial diameter, 20,926,330 feet. 

Semi-polar axis . . . 20,855,240 feet. 
ae 


Flattening wee 294.36 
? 


The latter calculations take in the final determinations of the great Russian arc 
measured by M. Struve. The French metre is thus not, as was supposed, ex- 
actly a ten-millionth part of any ascertained quarter of a meridian, nor of an 
average quarter meridian. 

Sirxxkworms or THE Oax.—M. Guerin Méneville informs the French 
Academy that, in addition to three Asiatic silkworms living on the oak, the 
Bombyx melitta from Bengal, and Bombyx Pernii from N. China, and Bombyx 
Yama-Mai from Japan, he is trying to naturalize a fourth, the Bombyx Roylei, 
from the Himalayas, on the borders of Cashmere. On the 28rd March he 
received 20 cocoons. At first only males were produced, but on the 19th April 
he obtained a male and female moth, the latter laying 108 eggs, M. Méneyille 
thinks it will be easy to rear these silkworms in Central and Northern France. 


Functions or THe CrrepritumM.—Dr. Dickinson states that experiments 
with reptiles and fish show that,the cerebrum by itself is unable to give more 
than a limited amount of voluntary motion, and that of a kind deficient in balance 
and adjustment. If the cerebellum only be removed from fishes, there is a loss 
of the proper adjustment between the right and left sides, so that oscillation or 
rotation takes place. All the limbs are used, but apparently with a deficiency of 
sustained activity. From the negative results of experiments it is inferred that 
the cerebellum has nothing to do with common sensation, with the sexual pro- 
pensity, with the action of the involuntary muscles, with the maintenance of 
animal heat, or with secretion, ‘Lhe voluntary muscles are under a double in- 
fluence, from the cerebrum and the cerebellum. The anterior limbs are 


Notes and Memoranda. 385 


chiefly under the influence of the cerebrum; the posterior of the cerebellum. 
Cerebellar movements are apt to be habitual, while cerebral are impulsive. The 
cerebellum acts when the cerebrum is removed, though when both organs exist it 
is under its control. Proc. Roy. Soc., No. 63. 


Toning Bath For AtBumMEN Procrss.—In reply to one of our corres- 
pondents, who has requested us to give a good formula for a toning bath, we 
select the following out of a great number at present in use, as, in ordinary 
circumstances, among the most convenient and effective. Place one litre of dis- 
tilled water, and then two grammes of chloride of gold in No. 1—a bottle with a 
cork: one litre of distilled water, and then twenty grammes chloride of lime in 
No. 2—a bottle with a ground-glass stopper: one litre of distilled water, and 
then five grammes of common salt, in No. 3—a bottle with a cork. All the 
chloride of lime will not be dissolved; but what remains at the bottom of the 
bottle will keep the fluid saturated, which is necessary :—before being used the 
required quantity of it must be filtered. ‘The toning bath is made as follows :— 
To one litre of distilled water is added 60cc of the fluid in bottle No. 1, 20ce of 
that in No. 2, and 15cc of that in No. 3. The mixture should be limpid, and 
either colourless or of a light yellow tinge. It must be used at once, as it will 
not keep. According to the time during which the proofs are immersed in it, the 
shade will vary from some tint of blue to a deep black: a dark violet being pro- 
duced in moderate weather in about twenty minutes—in cold weather a longer 
time will be required. The whites will be beautifully bleached by the free 
chlorine. A litre of this mixture will tone about 70 cartes de visite. They 
must be moved about in it, and occasionally taken out, and replaced. The 
quantity required for any number of proofs of any size may be easily calculated. 


HaRTHQUAKE In SussEx.—On the 30th April a shock was felt in several 
places in Sussex, Lewes included. The strongest effect is reported to have been 
felt at Chailey. A lady at Lewes heard a noise like hail shortly after midnight 
(81st). At Fletching the people supposed a gunpowder explosion had occurred. ; 


Contcat Hart.—M. J. A. Barral describes to the French Academy some 
hailstones that fell in Paris on the 29th March, 1864. They were of conical 
shape, slightly concave at the base, and fell point downwards. The cones were 
eight or ten millimétres in diameter at the base, and ten to thirteen millimétres 
high. They seemed to be formed by the adhesion of small pyramids, leaving a 
little hollow inside. 


Grest Crocopite or THE OorrtE.—M. A. Valenciennes exhibited to the 
French Academy on the 11th April a fossil crocodile tooth found in the Oolite, 
near Poitiers. From its size he estimated the animal to have been one hundred 
feet long. This creature must not be confounded with the megalosaurus. 


CoMPaRING THE LicutT oF Stars.—In Comptes Rendus for the 11th April 
M. Chacornac describes a method of mounting a plane mirror so as to bring into 
the field of a telescope the image of one star, while the telescope receives directly 
the light of another. By this means the two images are brought into simul- 
taneous view, the one of course less brilliant than it should be, through loss of 
light in reflection. He gives the calculations necessary to work out the comparison. 
Sirius he finds to be five times as bright as Arcturus. He is able to work by this 
method upon stars from 20° to 160° apart. When seen simultancously, Arcturus 
looks orange red, and Sirius has a slight green tint. 


Tur Morn or tHe OrpraL Bran—Insensipiuity To Porson.—Dr. Fraser 
shows in the Annals of Natural History that the caterpillar of Deiopeia pulchella 
can eat the poisonous ordeal bean of Calabar with impunity, and is in the habit 
of boring holes in it. This caterpillar is readily killed with hydrocyanic acid, 
while the Anthonomas druparum can live upon the kernel of the Prunus cerasus 
that contains it. 

Grarrina Anrmats,—Dr. Paul Bert has published a work on the curious 
subject of animal grafts. He succeeded in making Siamese twins of a couple of 
rats, and in many other monstrosities. He exclaims, ‘‘it is a surprising spectacle 
to see a paw cut from one rat live, grow, finish its ossification, and regenerate its 


386 Notes and Memoranda. 


nerves, under the skin of another, and when we plant a plume of feathers under 
the skin of a dog, what a miracle to see the interrupted vital phenomena resume 
their course, and the fragment of a bird receive nourishment from the blood of a 
mammal.” sg 


Formation or Tu1ck Icr.—M. Lucien de la Rive has recently read an 
elaborate paper on the Conductibility of Heat by Ice, before the Sorieté le- 
Physique and d’Histoire Naturelle de Genéve, which is reprinted in the Archives 
des Sciences. In this essay he enters, amongst other things, on the time required 
to form thick masses of polar ice by gradual freezing of the water touching their 
lower surfaces. One metre in thickness would, he states, require 1:42 years, 10 
metres 142 years, 100 metres, 14,200 years, 200 metres, 56,800 years. The huge 
masses seen by Scoresby and others, having a probable thickness of 200 metres, 
may have grown by snow falling on their upper surfaces; but if it were possible 
to determine by difference of structure what portion resulted from this cause, and 
what was produced by additions from below, the time consumed in the formation 
of the latter might be computed according to the formule which M. de la Rive 
gives. 

Viewine TapprotE CrrcuLation.—Those who are not familiar with the best 
arrangements for this purpose should consult Mrs. Ward's excellent Microscope 
Teachings. All but the very youngest tadpoles are too thick for the live box; 
older ones may be placed, as in Mrs. Ward’s sketch, onaslide, and partly covered 
with a little tuft of wet cotton wool, They will generally be quiet enough without 
tying down. When the gill circulation is to be viewed, the cotton should be 
placed over the tail, and when the gills have disappeared, and the tail circulation 
becomes a beautiful spectacle, the cotton should be placed over the creature’s head 
and body. 


Curr ror Hoorina Covau.—The Courier du Pas du Calais mentions seve- 
ral instances of the cure of hooping cough by inhalation of the vapours evolved 
by the lime used in purifying coal-gas. It affirms that two or three visits to 
the gas-works have usually proved sufficient. 


Mr. Guatsuer’s 181m Ascent took place on the 6th of April, at 4°7 p.m., 
from Woolwich Arsenal. The sky was overcast at starting, and had been so all 
day, wind §.E. The balloon crossed the river into Essex ; at 500 feet elevation 
the air was very misty, and increased in density as the balloon rose; at 2000 
feet wind was SW. or WSW.; at 2500 feet dense white cloud; at 3500 feet 
thin rain; at 4000 feet clouds less dense, and increase of light; at 4500 feet sun 
seen faintly ; at 5100 feet the sun cast a faint shadow, but cloud continued up to 
6500 feet ; the air was still misty, and after reaching 8100 feet mist increased 
till the height of 9000 feet ; at 9500 feet bright sunshine, and it was quite warm. 
At 10,000 feet Mr. Glaisher says, ‘We were quite out of the cloud, and there 
wasa sea of white cloud, dazzling in its brightness, extending without break or 
irregularity in its surface as far as we could see all around, that is, for more than 
100 miles on all sides ; near to us on the cloud on the side opposite the sun was a 
bright oval halo of immense extent, in the centre of which was situated the sha- 
dow of the balloon and car, but without prismatic colours. This all appeared to 
revolve with us, for it was constant, and we knew we were turning round by 
the sun now shining on our backs and then in our faces. At the greatest eleva- 
tion, 11,000 feet, there was perfect repose, the sky was without a cloud, of a beau- 
tiful deep blue.” The temperature on leaving was 46°; at 1000 feet, 414°; at 
1500 feet, 40°; at 2000 feet, 37°; at 3000 feet, 32°; from 3500 to 4000 feet, no 
variation from 33°; at 5000 feet temperature rose to 36°; at 8000 feet, 40°; at 
9000 feet, 34° ; between 10,000 and 11,000 feet, 46°. In descending, the highest 
temperature was at 8000 feet, 46°, at that elevation it is usually 30° to 40° lower 
than on the earth. Within two miles of the earth totally opposite currents were 
found, No ozone was detected. 


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P, H. Gosse, ad viv. 
HAIRY-BACKED ANIMALCULES., 
naetonotide:, 


1, Cheetonotus larus, crawling on a thread of Conferva; 2, in the act of turning ; if 
3, viewed from above, 4, C. toaximns; 6, the mouth and oculiform specks, more — 
highiy magnitied 6. O squammats, 7, C. Slackie, 8, C. gracilis, | 
17, Yaphrocaropa annulosa, viewed from above; 13, viewed from the eft side; 
1), ideal transverse section. “i 


4 


AS FE. 


i SO" ie 
Cee) 


Son 
a Os 
oN 


co 


- 


AAW rn 


P_ Ti. Gosse, ad viv. 
HAIRY-BACKHD ANIMALCULES, 
Cheetonotide. 


9, Dasydytes gomiathrix, viewed from above; 10, viewed from the right side; 
11, viewed from the front; 12, one of the bristles greatly magnified./ 

43, D. antenniger; 11, the caudal pencils more highly magnified. 5, Cursanella 
hyalina, (after Schulze.) 16, Bchinodera Dwiardin, (after Dujardin.) 
N.B.—All the figs., except 5, 12, and 14, are moagnified 30) diam., and all, except 15 
and 16, are from the life. 


PLATH 


ii} 


" 


THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER, 


JULY, 1864. 


THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HATRY-BACKED 
ANIMALCULES (CHAITONOTID). 


BY PHILIP HENRY GOSSE, F.R.S. 
(With Two Plates.) 


Wuoever has been in the habit of collecting the floccose matter 
that accumulates around the submerged stems of aquatic plants, 
or the impalpable sediment that les at the bottom of still pools 
and running ditches, and of examining the same in the live- 
boxes of his microscope, is aware how abundant and how 
various are the forms of life that are presented to his view. 
Creatures the most strange and the most incongruous—odd in 
their shapes, odd in their structure, odd in their manners, odd 
in their movements, swim, or rotate, or creep, or wriggle over 
the field of vision, till the little pellet of brown mud, no bigger 
than a grain of duck-shot, flattened out before him, proves a 
complete microcosm. Many such pellets will not have passed 
under the eye of the curious observer before he will pretty 
certainly have become familiar with a little creature of attrac- 
tive appearance and lively manners, which forms the typical 
representative of alimited group of animals, whose family name 
I have set at the head ofthis article. Dr. Ehrenberg, of Ber- 
lin, named it the Bristle-fish (Chetonotus), both of which 
appellations allude to the long and stout bristles with which 
its back is beset in rows. Its movements are not so rapid as 
those of many animalcules, and therefore it affords a fair object 
for the young microscopist, while its form is so peculiar as to 
be easily recognized. When enclosed in an aquatic live-box, 
it is fond of crawling on the surface of the glass cover, whereby 
we distinctly see the ventral surface, as we sce the lateral form 
when it creeps about the stems. The form, when seen ver- 
tically, is somewhat fish-like, with a thick, blunt, and rather 
triangular head, and a slight constriction or neck; a swelling 
body, terminating in two diverging points. ‘The figure, when 
VOL. V.—NO. VI. i DD 


388 History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 


seen sidewise, reminds one of that of a ferret, the back being 
much arched (Plate i. Fig. 1). The whole body appears covered 
with hairs, which are set in rows ; those on the front part are 
smaller and closer, those on the back larger and fewer. The 
fore-part, seen from beneath, presents an appearance of hatch- 


ing or cross lines running diagonally, or else of dots set in ~ 


quincunx, which I suppose are the bases of the hairs growing 
in such an arrangement. The internal structure is not usually 
discernible ; for though the body is pellucid and colourless, and 
often lustrous from the refraction of the light, especially 
through the neck, the number of hairs which stud the surface 
prevent a clear sight of the interior. Two bands, which run 
down the belly, are understood to be bands of cilia. There is 
a certain nimbleness and sprightliness in the motions of this 
pretty animal as it crawls, frequently turning short on itself and 
changing its course (see Fig. 2), examining various objects, 
much like a caterpillar does, with apparent intelligence. I shall 
return to this species again for fuller details; but this general 


description will help the reader better to understand the group ~ 


of which I propose to treat. 

The form appears to have been recognized in the earliest re- 
cords of microscopic observation; for Joblot, nearlya century and 
a half ago, described an animalcule, which was probably enough 
this very creature, under the title of “ Poisson a téte tréflée.” 
I say “ probably,’ because an approwimation to the general 
outline of such minute creatures was all that, with their very 
imperfect instruments, the early observers could accomplish. 
About sixty years later Miiller, the great Danish zoologist, and 


the first who attempted to define and arrange the host of micro- 


scopic animalcules that were crowding upon observers, de- 
scribed under two names—Cercaria podura and T'richoda larus 
—what may have been two species of the same family, or one. 
The two specific names have, however, been adopted in modern 
nomenclature, as representing two distinct creatures, the latter 
being appropriated to the one I have described; though on 
what account he applied the name larus, which signifies a gull, 
to it, | cannot conjecture, Passing by other observers, who 
have recorded nothing more worthy of note concerning the 
form, than that they recognized it, we come to Ehrenberg, who, 
in his valuable papers in the Transactions of the Berlin Academy 


for 1831, and afterwards in his notable work Die Infusions- 


thierchen, determined the two genera, Ichthydiwm and Cheto- 
notus, for the two species described by Miller, adopting his 
specific names, and added two more species to the latter 
genus, , 

The great Prussian zoologist included these creatures among 
the Rotirura, uniting with them in the same group two other 


History of the Hawy-backed Animalcules. 389 


genera, which have no real affinity with them, his system of 
arrangement being artificial, and therefore, necessarily, in some 
cases, unnatural.* 

M. Dujardin, in 1841, described another species, which he 
named Ch. squammatus, and rejecting Hhrenberg’s arrangement, 
united the then known forms with others, with which they have 
no more affinity, and placed the heterogeneous group among the 
Infusory animalcules by the name of Symmetrical Infusoria. 
His ground for the change is thus expressed :—“ The Ichthy- 
dina, according to M. Hhrenberg, ought to have a rotatory 
organ, simple, continuous, with an entire margin ; but, in fact, 
the vibratile cilia of the ventral surface of the Chetonotes do 
not at all constitute a rotatory organ.” + 

Ten years later, the same zoologist described another form 
(Plate u. Fig. 16) under the title of Hchinodera,t apparently 
allied to the same group ; to which, however, he now assigned 
a higher place, viz., intermediate between Crustacea and 
Vermes. He believes that this is “a type differmg from the 
Helminthes acanthocéphales, the Systolides | Rotifera], the Hnto-_ 
mostraca Oopepoda | Cyclops, etc.| and the Sipuncles, yet at the 
same time offering points of resemblance to each of these. It 
is a sort of Copepode without feet, with the mouth of a Sipun- 
culus, and the neck of an Hehinorhynchus, and a muscular 
cesophagus like those of the Systolides, the Tardigrades, and 
the Nematoid Helminthes.” 

M. Perty§ and Herr Vogt|| concur in the exclusion of the 
Cheetonotide from the Rottrmra; the former, however, has not 
ventured to assign them any definite position, while the latter 
associates them with the Planarioid worms (‘T'URBELLARIA). 

* Tt is the fashion to depreciate and decry Ehrenberg., I have no sympathy 
with those who, taking their stand upon the ground which he has cleared with 
incredible labour and genius, can assume airs of pity or contempt when they dis- 
cern inconsistencies or defects in his system. Many years’ study of the Rotifera 
has enabled me in some measure to appreciate the gigantic labours of the Prussian 
microscopist, and to compare them with those of his successors and critics. I 
take, for example, Dujardin’s Hist. des Infusotires, and have no hesitation in 
asserting that this work does not manifest one-fourth part of the real actual 
acquaintance with the subjects treated, that is possessed by Ehrenberg’s great 
work. Corrections and improvemeuts in some points cannot fail to be pointed 
out by those who begin where the Prussian left off; and the advance of science, 
and the improvement of the microscope itself, have, of course, made antiquated 
and displaced many of his statements and conclusions; but, looking at microscopic 
zoology as it was when Ehrenberg took it up, and as it was when he laid it down, 
I think it not too much to say that he stands in the foremost ranks of the scientific 
army, side by side with such names as Aristotle, Linneus, and Cuvier, and that 
his Die Infusionsthierchen is 1 monument to his fame, wre perennius, and such as 
few indeed have been able to erect. 

+ Hist. des Infus., p. 569. é 
_ f Annal. d. Sei. Nat. 1851. The name is erroneously spelled “ Ellimoderia” 
in the 4th Ed. of Pritchard’s Infusoria, p. 380. ; 


§ Zur Kenntniss kleinster Lebens formen 
|| Zoologische Briefe, 


390 History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 


Dr. Max Schulze, describing yet another genus, Turbanella 
(Pl. 11. Fig. 15), m 1853,* took occasion to institute an elaborate 
examination of the structure of the whole group, augmented by 
all these discoveries. He considers that it does without doubt 
fall within the great circle of Vurmus, though there is some_ 
difficulty in determining in which class to place it. Its union 
with the Rorrrera he judges impossible: 1, because of the ab- 
sence of the vibratory organs around the mouth, so characteristic 
of that class ; 2, because muscles, nerves, and water-vessels— 
organs which are wanting in no true Rotifera—have not been 
found in this group; 3, because of the absence of a caudal ex- 
tremity, furnished with articulated members; and 4, because of 
the peculiar cilia with which the ventral surface is clothed in 
the Chetonotes. Turbanella shows traces of a division into 
segments in the separation of the head from the rest of the 
body, in the ring of cilia which surrounds the head, and in the 
position of the almost regularly recurring lateral processes, and 
thus reminds us, in its ciliation and its obscure articulation, of 
several states of development of the true AnnuLipa. I may add, 
that the Hchinodera of Dujardin, and my own curious genus, 
Taphrocampa (Figs. 17—19), presently to be described, carry 
this appearance of segmentation still further, and, pro tanto, 
strengthen the grounds of affinity with the AnnpLIDA. 

Dr. Schulze cites the analogy of certain Annelida, which 
possess, even in the adult condition, a ciliated skin. Polyoph- 
thalmus (Quatref.) has a ciliary head-veil, not unlike that of the 
Rotifera. The genus Spio is provided, according to Oersted 
(confirmed by Schulze’s own observations), with ciliated gill- 
leaves ; its two long frontal cirri are also ciliated, and so are the 
pair of longer appendages, which, seated on the second seg- 
ment, project at right angles from the body, as noticed in a 
species found at Cuxhaven. . 

The claim of the TursnLiarta to afford a refuge for these 
strangers, which, like homeless paupers passed from parish to 
parish, are found so difficult to settle, is next brought under 
review. All the Vortex-worms havea ciliated covering, spread 
entirely and uniformly over the body ; their skin is soft and 
melting ; their digestive canal is destitute of a firm envelope, 
and is separated from the soft parenchyme of the body only by 
its wall, formed of peculiar digestive cells, or hepatic cells. 
Muscle-threads, the central portion of a nervous system, and 
water-vessels, are recognized in all these worms.t In Che- 


* Archiv f. Anat. Physiol., etc, 1853, p. 241, et seq. 

+ “In Microstomum lineare, in which neither Oskar Schmidt nor I could for- 
merly discover any trace of a water-vascular system, I have lately recognized such, 
furnished with very small tremulous tags, and also distinct muscle-threads,”— 
Note by Dr. Schulze. ' j 


\ 
. 


History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 391 


tonotus and Turbanella the skin is not melting, but capable of 
resisting, to some extent, cold potass solution. It is ciliated 
only on the ventral surface, and, in the former genus, only on 
a portion even of this. The ring of cilia which surrounds the 
head of Turbanella, and the muscular coat of the alimentary 
canal of the Cheetonotes generally, sharply defined against the 
parenchyme of the body, especially in the anterior third, are 
conditions unknown among the Turbellaria ; while the motory 
muscles, nerve-threads, and water-vessels common to them, 
have not been recognized in those. Yet Dr. Schulze judges 
that a certain relationship between the Chetonotide and the 
TURBELLARIA is not to be mistaken: 1, because of their inarti- 
culate body, in. size and form resembling the little Vortex- 
worms; 2, because of the absence of any other locomotive 
organs than skin-cilia, by means of which, though covering only 
one half of the body, the animals yet proceed with a soft gliding 
motion, like that of the Vortex-worms; 5, because the absence 
of muscles, nerves, and. vessels is approached by the obscure 
- condition and receding development of these organs in many of 
the more minute Rhabdocela and Microstomata. Thus there 
seems here a closer affinity than with the ANNELIDA. 

Difficulties, however, beset the attempt to assign to the 
Cheetonotide their natural place in the class TurBettaria. The 
Dendrocela and the Rhyncocela are at once excluded; the 
former consisting of animals of superior size, furnished with a 
ramified intestine without an anal orifice ; the latter having, in- 
deed, a straight intestine, provided with an anus, but invariably 
possessing a protrusile proboscis. There remain the Rhabdo- 
cela and the Arhynchia.* Both these groups contain small 
forms, resembling those of the Chetonotide; but the former 
have an intestine without an anus, and a hermaphodite system 
of reproduction ; the latter an anal orifice, but a dicecious re- 
production. Thus the Cheetonotide, hermaphrodite and fur- 
nished with an anus, cannot, without force, be referred to 
either. 

In the Tursennarts, as in the Vermes generally, those cha- 
racters which are drawn from the form of the alimentary 
canal have a higher systematic signification than such as depend 
on the condition of the reproductive system. If the Cheetono- 
tide, then, are to be placed among the Turputrarta, Dr. Schulze 
would associate them, not with the Rhabdocela, but with the 
Arhynchia ; which would include the Microstomata and Dino- 
philus as dicecious, the Ohcetonotidee as moncecious forms. 

Finally, this able zoologist, taking into consideration all the 
facts recorded, considers it premature to determine the actual 


* Vide Schulze’s Beitr. z, Naturg. d. Turbellarien. 


392 History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 


relation of the family in question. Assigning to them a pro- 
visional place among the TuRBELLARIA, as just indicated, he 
admits that further investigations of the anatomy of this little 
examined group may bring to light relations hardly suspected ; 
while many forms more or less closely allied may still lurk un- ~ 
discovered, acquaintance with which may modify our already 
accepted conclusions. Dujardin’s curious little Hchimodera, and 
my own equally anomalous Taphrocampa, appear, for example, 
to widen the distance between the group and the TURBELLARIA ; 
while, in their more strongly marked segmentation they show 
a decided approach to the Annelidous forms. 

Having thus given to the reader an abstract of the views of 
one of the most learned of Continental zoologists on this obscure 
group, I proceed to describe all the species as yet recognized 
in it, premising that I have myself met with some, manifestly 
belonging to before-unknown genera, and other species which 
seem irreconcileable with published descriptions and figures of 
such as had been recognized. These I propose to include. 


FAMILY CHATONOTIDZ. 


I think it desirable that the family should be named after the 
most characteristic and most populous genus,'which is indubit- 
ably Cheetonotus, and not Ichthydium. It consists of soft- 
bodied animals microscopically minute, of lengthened form, 
having a bilateral symmetry, with a more or less distinct 
separation of the head; the body more or less clothed with 
vibratory cilia, and for the most part with long hairs; the 
alimentary canal straight, and furnished with an orifice at each 
extremity. Inhabitants of fresh-water. | 


Genus I.—Icurnypium (Ehrenberg). 


Posterior extremity forked ; body unfurnished with hair. 

Sp. 1. I. podura (Mill.) This form has been often seen 
by the early observers, if we can be quite sure that it has not 
been confounded with Chet. larus. Ehrenberg first certainly 
defined it, having met with it in Nubia, among conferva from 
the Nile, and subsequently near Berlin. The body is linear- 
oblong, with the anterior extremity swollen ; sometimes three- 
lobed ; often slightly constricted; the hind fork short. The 
ventral surface is flat, the dorsal arched, and destitute of hair. 
The largest specimens have not the least vestige of hair on the 
back. ‘Tho animal is colourless or whitish, but sometimes 
tinged with yellow, through the distension of the wide intes- 
tine. A longitudinal band of cilia was in one specimen clearly 
seen by Ehrenberg, along the belly, but in other individuals, 


History of the Hairy-backed Animaleules. 399 


though of large size, he could not with the utmost care discern 
it directly, though he saw a distinct rotation at the mouth. 
It swims more rarely than it crawls. Our specimen showed, 
in the hinder part of the thick body, a large dark egg, well 
developed. , 

This species appears to be rare; I have not myself met 
with it, nor have I noticed any record of its occurrence since 
the publication of Hhrenberg’s observations. 


Genus I].—Cuztonorus (Hhr.). 


Posterior extremity forked; body clothed with hair. 

Sp. 2. C. larus (Miull.) (Pl. i. Figs. 1—3.) This is the 
most commonly observed species of the whole family, being 
very frequently met with among duckweed, conferva, and other 
aquatic vegetation. It is of moderate dimensions, as compared 
‘with others, ranging from 1-400th to 1-200th of an inch in 
length. Its body is not quite four times as long as broad; the 
head is roundish or obscurely triangular, passing insensibly 
into the thick neck which separates it from the swelling ab- 
domen. The posterior extremity is deeply forked, the two 
divergent toes tapering to points, which are sometimes obtuse. 
Ehrenberg distinguishes the species by its having the hairs on 
the hinder portion of the back longer than those on the fore 
part; and in this distinction L concur with him, the specimens 
that I have seen possessing the character strongly marked, 
sometimes excessively. These long hairs are few, and spring 
out of a dense coat of short hair, which clothes the whole body, 
but most thickly behind. Probably this is what M. Dujardin 
refers to when he remarks that “ looking at it in profile we 
recognize that the back is covered with asperities from be- 
tween which the long straight hairs spring.’ * No one that 
Tam aware of has remarked a curious circumstance, that the 
sides of the head are furnished (Fig. 3) with some very long 
slender hairs, which stand out laterally, diverging, curving 
slightly forward, like the whiskers of a cat. I have observed 
the animal frequently bend and straighten them rapidly, near 
the tips, one independently of another, with a movement very 
different from an ordinary ciliary vibration. A strong ciliary 
current is produced on each side, by which floating atoms are’ 
drawn towards the head, and then rapidly hurled about half- 
way down the body. Vigorous ciliary currents are seen to 
pass along the inferior surface of the neck: I have not often 
been able to define these as forming two bands, though occa- 
sionally they are traceable, reaching nearly as far as the bottom 
of the posterior cleft, and then turning abruptly up and run- 


' ® Hist. d. Infusoires, p. 570. Seo, however, infra, under Das. antenniger. 


394 History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 


ning forward along the sides. The mouth appears to me oval, 
minute, slightly protrusile; Ehrenberg describes it as a tube 
furnished with eight teeth. It leads mto a gullet with very 
thick transparent walls, and a very slender perforation, which, - 
at about one-third the total length of the animal, enters a © 
straight imtestine, of equal diameter with the gullet-wall. 
This, as I have seen it, has been generally colourless, loosely 
filled with irregular clear masses, and apparently terminating 
at a curved transverse line, considerably above the fork.. This 
line is doubtless the outline of the swollen arched back, and 
marks the position of the cloaca, which, as is frequently the 
case, is visible only at the instant of its function, Hhrenberg 
has induced the digestive organs to receive indigo. The same 
observer has frequently seen a large developed egg contained 
in the ovary, which occupies the arched cavity of the abdomen, 
situate over (that is, more towards the back) the intestine. 
The egg is about one-third as long as the whole animal. I 
have seen the reproductive system in an inactive condition, 
merely as clear, refracting viscera of large size, and irregular 
shape, lymg in the abdominal cavity, occasionally extending 
forward to the neck. On one occasion I am pretty sure that 
I saw, for a portion of its length, a tortuous water-vessel, run- 
ning down one side. (See Fig. 3.) 

The movements of this little animal are smooth and grace- 
ful, a sort of gliding or creeping over the water-plants ; rarely 
swimming. Once I saw a Paramecium come blundering 
up against an unsuspecting Cheetonotus, who instantly doubled 
his pace as if frightened, but soon recovered his equanimity. 
Mr. Slack says, that among threads of conferva or decayed 
vegetation, he has observed it grope about, and shake them 
like a dog. (See Marvels of Pond Life, p. 84; where are two 
excellent figures of the species, and some interesting notes of 
its manners.) 

Sp. 3. C. maximus (Hhr.) (Pl. i. Figs. 4 and 5). This is 
about twice the size of the preceding, measuring from 1-120th 
to 1-200th of an inch. The body is lengthened, shghtly con- 
stricted, with the head turgid and obtusely triangular; the 
hairs on the upper surface short and equal. Such is Ehren- 
berg’s definition of the species, who adds that the mouth is 
furnished with about eight feeble teeth (possibly papille). The 
distribution of the bristles in one he observed in distinct longi- 
tudinal rows; in another the arrangement appeared irregularly 
diagonal. A single egg is developed at once, greatly dilating 
the dorsal region of the abdomen, which Ehrenberg saw dis- 
charged by the cloaca above the foot-fork ; he saw the germ- 
vesicle distinctly. 

Dr. Schulze suggests the possibility that this species and 


History of the Hairy-backed Animaleules. 395 


C. larus may be identical; but surely without good reason. 
He has added a good deal to our knowledge of its minuter 
anatomy ; in particular he does not find the bristles of equal 
length, but longest on the back and hind end ; and states that 
each is a pointed spine furnished with two minute subordinate 
spines, one springing on each side of its base. These spines are 
processes of the skin, not hairs inserted into it; but they are 
dissolved by potass more readily than the skin itself. The 
belly surface is quite destitute of spines, but it is uniformly 
clothed on the anterior half with short cilia, which on the pos- 
terior half are ranged in two bands along the edge, uniting 
above the fork. The median line of the belly is clothed with 
a row of short stiff down lying backwards. 

The mouth, surrounded by eight or ten long, soft, and 
immoveable slender hairs, is formed by a circular membrane, 
either finely plaited, or beset with minute prominences (‘‘teeth”’ 
HKhr.), protrusile, in the form of a short tube. Schulze recog- 
nizes the great egg with its germ-vesicle, and adds that it 1s 
covered with a shell, which potass does not dissolve. He also 
finds in front of the ovary a cellular spermatic gland, and two 
groups of spermatozoa; but fails to detect any trace of nerves, 
muscles, water-vessels, or tremulous tags. 

In August, 1851, I found in a dyke near Stratford a very 
large Cheetonotus, which I am disposed to refer to this species. 
Tis length was 1-70th of an inch, its greatest width 1-400th 
(but including the bristles 1-300th) ; length of the toes 1-580th. 
The dimensions, equal to those of a full-grown Notommata 
aurita, rendered it distinctly visible to the naked eye, and 
marked it from all others known to me. It was equally marked 
by its dense coat of rigid, spinous bristles, set all over the body 
on the upper surface and sides, and which are longer towards 
the hinder parts. The toes are small, slender, slightly knobbed 
and incurved ; they can be made to approach, and even to 
cross each other. On the anterior half of the body the bases 
of the bristles are evidently set in quincunx in about eight rows 
visible; the spots are very distinct and strong. On the pos- 
terior half, the increased length and decumbency of the bristles 
cause a brown opacity and roughness ; through which, however, 
the cylindrical intestine can be seen by focussing. The head 
is but slightly lobed, and the neck scarcely at all constricted. 
The mouth consists of a short tube, evidently protrusile, with a 
dark oval speck at the bottom in the centre, where a straight 
slender tube originates, and passes through a wide cylindrical 
cesophagus to the intestine, the head of the latter embracing 
its fundus. On the front and at each side of the head are 
very delicate curved hairs like vibrissee. Just below the lower 
edge of the mouth are placed two minute hooked organs, the 


396 History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 


end of which seem thickened and are bent downwards. Oval. 


clear specks, one on each side of the face, may be eyes. (See 
Fig. 5.) 
The manners were much like those of the rest of the genus. 


It was restless, crawling impatiently among the little masses of ~ 


sediment, frequently turning itself double, and sometimes coil- 
ing almost into a circle ; perpetually shortening and lengthen- 
ing the head, protruding the mouth, and searching with the 
fore part, like a caterpillar. It sometimes swam briskly. 

A much smaller individual, from the same dyke, had the 
bristles much fewer; they were, however, very coarse, and 
rigid and curved. A row of fine close-set vibrating cilia run 
along the side besides the bristles. I think it was a young one 
of the same species. 

In a specimen recently dead, and lying on its side, 1 saw 
the lateral form of the mouth, and the traces of tooth-like strize 
that surround it. I saw no bristles along the belly line, but 
_ they covered the whole sides. Certain irregular lines may pos- 
sibly have been folds of the skin. The intestine was decurved, 
and terminated considerably short of the fork; it appeared to 
have a distinct portion at its anterior end, separated by a dia- 
phragm. The toes were decurved. I did not notice the pecu- 
liar structure of the bristles observed by Schulze, but cannot 
affirm that it was not present. 

Sp.4. C. brevis (Hhr.). This is characterized by its minute 
perso, being only 1-430th of an inch in length, and by 
its having several eggs developed simultaneously, which are 
proportionally smaller. A doubtful species, and one which has 
not, I believe, been recognized by any other observer. 

Sp. 5. C. squammatus (Dy.) (Pl i. Fig. 6.) The hairs 
enlarged in the manner of scales, regularly imbricated, distin- 
guish this species. M. Dujardin found it in January 1840, in 
a bottle of fresh water which he had kept for more than a year, 
having brought it originally from Paris to Toulouse.* On the 
upper surface it appears clothed with scales ranged in seven 
longitudinal rows, but on a side view these are seen to be the 
bases of short hairs which cover all the back, and even the 
forked foot. ‘The mouth appeared surrounded by four or five 
papille, only occasionally visible. The vibratory cilia of the 
ventral surface are very long, especially on the anterior 
portion. 

In 1850 I found what I presume to be this species, in a 
tub of water exposed in my garden for the propagation of Roti- 
fera. A description, made at the time, without any knowledge 
of Dujardin’s observations, I subjoin. Length 1-170th of an 


' ¥ Pritchard (Jnfus. 4th Ed, p. 662) by mistake says “sea water from Tou- 
ouse. 


History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 397 


-inch. In form this resembles O. larus, being rather broad in 
proportion to the length. At first sight the body seems quite 
smooth, but on bending strongly to either side, it is seen to be 
clothed with hair, as it were agglutinated in locks, like human 
hair wetted ; for these locks then separate. ‘The outline of the 
head is slightly five-lobed, and on each side of the face there 
are several long slender bristles diverging laterally, like the 
whiskers of a cat. Along the ventral surface run two rows of 
vibratile cilia, extending the whole length ; they appear to be 
longest near the front. I distinctly saw them in vibration 
throughout, and the motion communicated by them to the 
floating atoms was strong and conspicuous; these, however, 
were hurled backwards longitudinally only, with no trace of 
vortices. 

The mouth, cesophacus, and alimentary canal do not differ 
from those of the next species; but the surface of the body 
presents something peculiar; it appears to be thrown into a 
number of transverse or annular wrinkles, possibly produced 
by the arrangement of the hair in locks. On.the front third a 
number of transversely oblong dark spots are seen, arranged 
quincuncially with much regularity ; their nature I could not 
determine, unless they also be divisions of the matted masses 
of hair; they are certainly not spots of positive colour. The 
whole animal is colourless; the mtestine was granular, but 
appeared empty ; it would not imbibe carmine. No reproduc- 
tive organs were discernible. The forked toes are blunt at 
the tips; they are sometimes widely separated ; that they are 
soft was manifest when one was bent by pressure against the 
glass, as the animal turned. It possesses the power of con- 
traction and elongation to a slight extent; in the former the 
transverse wrinkles become more distinct, and the animal 
becomes shorter and broader. My specimen was very active, 
crawling nimbly, and swimming with much swiftness, but in 
an unsettled wandering manner. The body is very flexible, 
frequently turning so short as to be bent double. 

Sp. 6. C. Slackize (Gosse). (Platei. Fig. 7.) This undescribed 
species I venture to dedicate to alady, to whose facile and ele- 
gant pencil microscopists are so much indebted for the beautiful 
and truthful delineations of The Marvels of Pond Life. I ob- 
tained it in January, 1851, from the sediment of the garden-tub 
already alluded to. Its length was 1-135th of an inch; its greatest 
breadth 1-600th. The proportions are nearly those of C. larus, 
but the outline of the head is the half of a short ellipse, without 
lobes, and it passes, with an abruptangle, into the neck, which 
is Somewhat more slender in proportion to the body than in the 
species just named. This form of the head gives a peculiar 
aspect to the physiognomy, and is the first appearance of a 


398 History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 


character which is more marked in the following species, and 
more strongly still in the genus Dasydytes. The upper surface 
of the body is conspicuously studded with quincuncial dots, the 
optical effect of what I judge to be tubercles or warts so 
arranged, from which, perhaps, the hairs sprig. (In the en- 
graying I have not indicated this reticulation, that I might dis- 
play more clearly some important particulars of the internal 
anatomy.) The back and sides are clothed with very fine hair of 
only moderate length, which is directed backwards. I did not 
detect any trace of facial vibrissee. 

The mouth is rather larger than usual, abruptly narrowed 
behind. The cesophagus is of the normal form, a cylinder with 
very thick transparent walls, centrally pierced by a slender 
tube. I was surprised to observe that the cesophagus did not 
embrace the mouth, but appeared to commence just behind it, 
by a peculiarity of structure not easy to explain (perhaps a 
sudden dip or angle carrying it out of focus, though in incessant 
manipulation, such a circumstance could scarcely have been 
undetected), apparently with a depressed centre, where the 
medial perforation began. (See Fig. 7.) Imbedded in the exterior 
wall of this viscus, on each side of its summit, was a minute 
oval dot, well defined, which at times appeared to have positive 
colour, and which reminded me of the eye-specks of Rotifera. 
At the posterior extremity of this perforated viscus (which 
in ignorance we call the esophagus), about one-fourth of its 
length, having a vaulted figure, seemed separated by a delicate 
bounding line from the rest. The posterior extremity was 
slightly excavated, and seated upon the correspondingly convex 
summit of the intestine,—another deviation from the normal 
condition, in which the intestine embraces the cesophagus ina 
hollow. On each side of the summit of the intestine an oval 
clear vesicle was seated, having the appearance, situation, and 
doubtless function, of those glands which, in almost all Rotifera, 
we assume to be pancreatic. 

But the most interesting result of examination was the in- 
dubitable discovery of a water-system on the plan of that of the 
Rotifera. Serpentine vessels ran along each side of the body- 
cavity (two visible on one side, one only on the other), which 
could be traced very distinctly (especially when the animal 
bent itself laterally) nearly to the fork, and in front to the 
occiput, where each ended in a clavate bulb. Immediately in 
front of this pair of bulbs, but not having any visible connection 
with them, were two globular vesicles, which refracted the 
light strongly, and were probably filled with some fluid. These 
were not distinct in the same focus that defined the minute 
eye-like specks, and hence must have been in the opposite 
(ventral) region of the head-cavity. After a while, one only of 


ee ee eo 


History of the Hairy-backed Animateules. 399 


these could be found, the other having vanished. Are they, 
then, contractile vesicles? The other viscera presented nothing 
remarkable. 

Sp. 7. C. gracilis (Gosse). (Pl. i. Fig. 8.) This elegant 
species, which [ obtained from a pond near Leamington, in 
July, 1850, is remarkable for the slenderness of its form, which 
is not broader than that of C. larws, while it is about twice its 
length. ‘The head is dilated at the occiput, where it is abruptly 
joined to the narrow neck, somewhat triangular, divided into 
five well-marked rounded lobes, and fringed on each side with 
laterally-diverging straight hairs. In the middle of the frontal 
lobe is pierced the mouth, which is of the same form as in 
C. Slackie, with slightly protrusile lips. The cesophagus is of 
the ordinary form, but its anterior extremity is conterminous 
with the front of the head, with no such structure, and no such 
accessories as are seen in the species just named. Its length 
is unusual, for it extends nearly to the middle of the body, 
where, just before it enters the intestine, the thick muscular 
wall suddenly narrows, till it seems commensurate with the 
tube itself. ‘The intestine is concave at its commencement, or 
rather, perhaps, it is furnished with a pancreatic gland on each 
side, which, as is frequently the case in the Rotifera, is poimted 
and ear-like. ‘This suggestion, however, rests merely on the 
form; for I have not detected any bounding line between the 
points and the intestine, nor was their substance clear, but 
densely filled, as was that viscus, with finely granular matter. 
The rounded termination, marking doubtless the position of 
the cloaca, is on the descent of the back, some distance in front 
of the foot-fork. 

I was not able to discern any internal organs besides the 
alimentary canal, though the opacity caused by the hairs was 
much less than usual. The anterior half of the body shows the 
bases of the hairs, like very delicate dots set in quincunx. The 
sides and back are armed with fine bristles curving backwards. 
The points of the foot-fork are slender, sub-cylindrical, and 
slightly dilated at the lips, which are decurved. 

The animal crawls impatiently about, apparently seeking 
for food; for I several times saw it eagerly snap at a Monad, 
that roamed near, opening the mouth at the same moment. 
Once I believe I saw it seize and swallow the prey, though as it 
was the work of an instant, I could not be quite certain. I 
have obtained but one specimen of this species. 


Genus IT].—Dasypyrus (Gosse). 


Head distinct: posterior extremely simple, truncate; body 
furnished with hair. 


400 History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 


Sp. 8. D. goniathrix (Gosse). (Pl. ii. Figs. 9—12.) Hairs 
long, each hair bent with an abrupt angle; neck much 
constricted. 

This and the following species I briefly defined, and 


formed of them the genus Dasydytes, in the Annals of Natural ~- 


History, for Sept. 1851. The present very remarkable form 
was obtained from a pool at Leamington, in July of the pre- 
ceding year. The length of the body is 1-150th of an inch; 
measured to the tips of the bristles, 1-110th. The head is 
nearly circular, as wide as the body, without lobes, but ab- 
ruptly separated from a slender neck. The mouth takes the 
form of a permanently projecting truncate lip, or short tube. 
The body is rather slender, swelling toward the hinder part, 
and tapering to a rounded or truncate point, without any trace 
of the ordinary forked foot. A most peculiar and bizarre cha- 
racter is imparted to the creature by its clothing of very long 
bristles, set along each side of the back, poimting obliquely 
backward, but apparently wanting along the mesial line, which 
rises into a ridge. Hach bristle is bent near its tip at an 
abrupt angle (see Fig. 12), so that it looks as if it had been 
broken and mended. The front of the head is furnished with 
long delicate hairs, not geniculate, which form two pencils 
directed backward, one falling on each side. Strong and con- 
spicuous vortical currents were produced on each side of the 
head, like those of the true Rotifera (Fig. 9), and in one speci- 
men I distinctly saw that they were caused by these frontal 
pencils of hairs, and that these were very long vibratory cilia. 
The ventral surface is set with short fine hair, which becomes 
longer behind (Fig. 10); doubtless cilia of unusual develop- 
ment, for they produced strong longitudinal backward cur- 
rents, continued from the frontal vortices. 

The tube of the cesophagus is always distinct, but the walls 
are to be discerned only when the animal is flattened by the 
compressorium. Then it is seen to be fusiform, instead of 
cylindrical, extending through one-third of the body, where its 
tube enters a wide cylindrical intestine, with a broad abruptly 
truncate anterior extremity; of this a short portion is clear, 
when the remainder is occupied with opaque granular food, 
and possibly may represent a pancreatic gland of abnormal 
form, as it embraces the hinder part of the gullet tube, or else 
is perforate with a similar tube (see Fig. 9). Butin one speci- 
men this very portion was intensely opaque, while the intes- 
tine was granular. The cloacal orifice seems to be at the 
very extremity of the body, as no termination of the intestine, 
nor even any diminution of its diameter, can be discerned short 
of that point. On repeated occasions I have seen the act of 
defecation, in one of which an oval clear. corpuscle was dis- 


Mistory of the Hawry-backed Animalcules. 401 


charged, which, before, as it lay near the extremity of the 
body, had much puzzled me: it was probably the undissolved 
envelope of a minute animalcule, which had been devoured. 

In one specimen, a large very clear viscus of irregular 
form occupied the widest part of the body, above the intestine, 
elevating the back into a hump. After some hours this viscus, 
which at first appeared structureless, developed an egg-cell 
with its nucleus, thus proving to be the ovary. The entire 
animal is of a pale smoky colour. It does not crawl like the 
Chetonotes, but habitually swims swiftly about, keeping, 
however, near the bottom of the water. 

Fig. 11 represents an individual as it appeared after it 
had become sluggish, and apparently dying; it is evidently a 
view lengthwise along the back, the lower part, or that next 
the observer, being, I believe, the head. It is valuable as 
showing the arrangement of the angled hairs. 

Sp.9. D.antenniger (Gosse). (Pl. u. Figs. 13, 14.) Hairs 
short, downy; a pencil of long hairs at each angle of the 
posterior extremity; head furnished with two club-shaped 
organs resembling antennz. ‘The horse-pond on Hampstead 
Heath yielded me this species, in August, 1850. It is a little 
smaller than the preceding, the length being only 1-170th of 
an inch; but measured to the tips of the hairs, 1-140th. In 
general figure, and in some particulars of its organization, it 
appears to diverge less from Chetonotus, than the preceding 
species does. ‘The head is round, as wide as the body; and 
there is but little constriction at the neck. The upper surface 
is covered with short but dense hair pointing backwards, and 
apparently set im quincunx; the posterior extremity is some- 
what three-lobed, the middle lobe furnished with a terminal 
brush of diverging hairs, the outer lobes each bearing a pencil 
of much longer hairs proceeding from its exterior side, and 
approaching or crossing the opposite pencil at the tips (Fig. 
14). From the front of the head projects the prominent 
tubular mouth; on each side of which long hairs fall backward 
as in D. goniathriz, and these, by their vibration, cause a 
perfect vortex on each side (see Fig. 18), while there is an 
accessory current also down along the side, and probably all © 
along the belly. But the most remarkable feature in this 
species is the presence of a pair of antennz or tentacles ; 
these are nearly as long as the width of the body, are slightly 
clubbed, and are placed one on each side of the tubular mouth, 
whence they spring in a curve forwards and outwards. Near 
the middle of the head is a little rounded mass, somewhat 
curdled in appearance, which I take to be a cerebral ganglion. 
An unusually wide and long csophagus, ventricose behind and 
permeated by a tube through its centre, leads from the mouth 


402 History of the Hairy-backed Animulcules. 


to a nearly cylindrical intestine. This widens a little in front 
to embrace the bulbous end of the cesophagus, and extends 
nearly to the posterior extremity. It was filled with food of a 
rich uniform green hue, and contained many air-bubbles, 
especially towards its fore part. On each side of the fore part _ 
of this viscus, I could indistinctly trace a lengthened slender — 
body, apparently a tortuous vessel, which on one side seemed 
to be connected with a small oval clear organ. From the fact 
that sometimes it was quite plain, while at others I could not 
discern any trace of it, it may probably have been a con- 
tractile vesicle. The whole outline of the animal appeared to 
have a wavy or notched character, indicating a tuberculous 
surface, as in 0. Slackie, if it was not an optical illusion, and 
caused by the hairs. 

This little animal was very active, swimming with much 
rapidity, and rarely becoming still; when confined in cells. 
formed by wool-fibres it was most persevering and often suc- 
cessful in forcing the barriers, by getting its thin flat head 
under a fibre, and pushing until it forced its body through 
also. 


Genus IV.—TourBanex1a (Schulze). 


Head distinct, surrounded by a ring of cilia; body naked 
above, clothed with cilia beneath; two rows of bristled pro- 
cesses along each side ; posterior extremity a broad flat plate 
with a central division. 

Sp. 10. T. hyalina (Schulze). (Plu. Fig. 15.) Length 1-60th 
to 1-48th of an inch; width 1-480th to 1-360th. ‘The body is 
lengthened, somewhat flat, transparent, colourless ; separated 
by a strangulation from a rondo-triangular head, which is wholly 
covered with fine cilia, and bears besides a wreath of strong 
cilia around its centre. The hinder extremity expands into 
two hard flat plates, which are indented comb-like on their 
edge, and are divided in the middle by a sinus, into which 
opens the cloaca. At nearly regular distances, all along each 
side of the body, are placed stiff processes of the skin, to the 
number of twenty to twenty-five, projecting at right angles 
horizontally ; and above these another row, consisting of six or 
eight similar processes, inclined backward, making from fifty 
to seventy in the four rows. Hach process bears at its tip an 
excessively fine immoveable seta of about its own length. These 
processes as well as the skin itself were found to be quite 
soluble in potass, and therefore are not composed of chitine. 

The alimentary canal runs in a straight line through the 
whole length. The mouth, opening on the rounded front of 
the head, and surrounded by a finely-plaited and indented edge, 
leads into the usual oesophagus with very thick transparent 


History of the Hairy-backed Animaleules. 408 


muscular walls, which terminates at about one-fourth of the 
body-length. The perforation is so slender as to be detected 
only while a morsel is in the act of being swallowed. The 
intestine presents nothing remarkable, except that in its yel- 
lowish granular wall containing fat-cells, Dr. Schulze thinks he 
finds a hepatic function. The body-cavity is occupied by a 
finely-granular, soft parenchyma, the corpuscles scattered in | 
which are not driven to and fro by the movement of the body, 
in which therefore a somewhat firm consistence is inferred. 
No trace of a muscular, nervous, or vascular system was dis- 
covered, though many individuals were carefully examined. 

The animal is hermaphrodite. A great ovary lies in the 
posterior half of the body, over the intestine, in the hinder 
portion of which are contained the incipient egg-germs, con- 
sisting of vesicle and speck, which are developed in the anterior 
portion, becoming surrounded with a granular yelk. Generally 
one or two eggs are found freed from the ovary, enclosed in 
a special soft colourless envelope. In front of these mature 
ova lies the spermatic gland, a mulberry-like mass of cells, and 
close to it two groups of spermatozoid germ-cells, apparently 
unenclosed, lying free in the parenchyma. In some examples 
the spermatozoids were developed, but showed no spontaneous 
motion. . 

The specimens described occurred to Dr. Max Schulze in 
sea-sand from Cuxhaven, with Desmidee and Diatomacec. 


They swam with a gentle gliding movement, like the Turbel- 
laria. 


Genus V.—Ecuinopira (Dujardin). 


Body articulated; set with few bristles; head distinct ; 
posterior extremity truncate, with two short processes, and 
spines. 

Sp. 11. H. Dujardini (Gosse). (Pl. ii. Fig. 16.) As the 
discoverer and describer has not assigned any specific name to 
his animal, I take the liberty of honouring it with his own. 
M. Dujardin obtained the form in July, 1841, in sea-water from 
St. Malo, which had been kept for six months. The generic. 
name, signifying “ spinous neck,” he selected to show its rela- 
tions with Hehinorhynchus. The body, 0°30 mm. to 0°55 mm. 
(about 1-75th to 1-50th of an inch) long, is oblong, almost 
cylindrical in front, a little flattened behind, where it terminates 
by two great bristles, accompanied by two other bristles of 
smaller size, like those we see at the extremity of the Oyclo- 
pide. The body is composed of ten segments, without count- 
ing the head, which is retractile, bristled with long and flexible 
spines, and without counting the caudal lamine (lames) which 
accompany the terminal sete, making the total number of seg- 

VOL. V.-—NO. VI. EE 


404 History of the Hatry-backed Animalcules. 


ments twelve. The first segment of the body is united to the 
second by a simple intersection ; all the rest are separated by 
a horny arch very distinct, presenting three articulations on 
the plane or ventral face, viz., one answering to the axis, and 
two lateral, between the edge and the middle. Each segment - 
encloses the next, and appears laterally armed with two points 
or spines imbedded in the rear. It is covered, or simply bor- 
dered with cilia, extremely fine, not vibratile, and very difficult 
to perceive. 

Under the first or the second segment, according to the 
state of retraction of the trunk, we perceive in the interior two 
red oculiform specks, which pertain to the retractile and pro- 
tractile portion of the digestive apparatus. To the extremity 
of this retractile portion extends the cesophagus, longitudinally 
plaited in the interior, and furnished in front with a coronet of 
lobes, or teeth, which represent the mouth. The membranous 
and plaited tube of the cesophagus is covered by a thick mus- 
cular layer (couche), forming a cylinder 0°035 mm. wide, and 
0:092 mm. long, which occupies the 3rd, 4th, and 5th segments 
of the body, and which, swollen in the middle, takes the form 
of the pharyngeal bulb of some worms. The stomach, which 
succeeds, is cylindrical, 0°040 mm. wide, 0°17 mm. long, and 
contracts itself from the front backward by successive waves : 
it is invested with a brownish floccose layer, which appears to 
represent a liver. Finally, a slenderer portion of the intestine 
occupies the tenth segment, and terminates between the two 
caudal plates. 

M. Dujardin has since found it, on repeated occasions, in 
sea-water, on oyster shells, etc., always with the same form and 
characters, without ova or genital organs. ‘If I had not seen 
it,” he remarks, ‘ always alike in vessels preserved more than 
a year, I might have supposed it the larva of some animal that 
had escaped my researches. Incomplete, however, as are my 
observations, after having vainly sought to add to them through 
ten years, I believe that they suffice to show.a type differing 
from those of the Helminthes acanthocéphales, the Systolides 

- or Rotifera, the Entomostraca Copepoda, and the Sipuncles, and 
at the same time offering points of resemblance to each of these. 
It is a sort of Oopepode, without feet, with the mouth of a 
Stpunculus, and the neck of a Bchinorhynchus, and a muscular 
cesophagus like those of the Systolides (Rotifera), the 'Tardi- 
grades, and the Nematoid Helminthes.”’ 


Genus VI,.—Tarurocampa (Cosse). 


Body articulate, destitute of hair; posterior extremity 
forked; mouth a mastax, with mallei and incus, which are 
incurved, 


History of the Hairy-backed Animalcules. 405 


Sp. 12. T. annulosa (Gosse). (Pl. i. Figs. 17—19.) This 
species and genus I defined in the Annals of Nat. Hist. for Sept. 
1851, collocating it with the Notommate and Furcularie, but 
indicating its relations with Cheetonotus. It occurred to my 
researches in a pool near Leamington, in July, 1850. Its length 
is about 1-110th of an inch, The form is very larva-like; the 
body is sub-cylindrical or fusiform, terminating in a bifid foot ; 
it consists of many rings or segments, which are set within the 
clear cylindrical integument, and are themselves of a sub-square 
form, with projecting angles. Thus a transverse segment would 
present the appearance of Fig. 19 ;—a structure not easily ex- 
plained. I could see no appearance of vortices, nor even the 
vibration of cilia ; yet the form of the mastax is Rotiferous, and 
appears closely to resemble that of Furcularia gracilis and of the 
Monoceree, consisting of an incus, with a long fulcrum and a 
pair of long incurved mallei. The animal can bring the tips of 
the jaws to the front, and nibbles extraneous matters with them 
like the Notommate, etc. A long, wide, straight, cylindrical 
alimentary canal, without any accessary glands or constriction, 
leads from the mastax to the cloaca just above the forked foot. 
It was in this specimen nearly empty, slightly tinged with yel- 
low. All the rest of the animal was colourless. No eggs or 
ovary were visible. At the occiput, behind the mastax, was an 
opake mass, which was white by reflected light, but showed no 
redness or appearance of eye, by either reflected or transmitted 
light. Like the cerebral ganglionin many Notommate, it lay at 
the bottom of a wide deep sac (Fig. 18). The animal contracts 
strongly and continually like Notommata; but the sphere of the 
contraction is the space occupied by the alimentary canal, the 
parts outside the boundary lines of this remaining still, while 
the parts within retract forcibly, and both ways, but chiefly 
from behind forwards. In its movements it resembles Cheto- 
notus, crawling sluggishly about the glass and the particles of 
sediment, I never saw it attempt to swim. 


The number of genera has thus been increased, since Dr. 
Schulze wrote his summary of the family, from four to six, and 
of species from seven to twelve. With these augmented mate- 
rials it seems to me that the judgment expressed by him as to 
their affinities must be somewhat modified, and I have no hesi- 
tation in recurring to the original decision of Ehrenberg, and 
in placing the Chetonotide among the Rorirera. ‘Tortuous 
canals and a contractile vesicle I have seen in O. larus, C. 
Slackie, and Das. antenniger: pancreatic (?) glands in C. 
Slackice ; ciliary vortices are made by D. goniathria and D. an- 
tenniger, not to be distinguished from those made by many 
Rorirera, as Furcularia, Notommata, etc. The egg-develop- 


406 History of the Hairy-backed Animaleules. 


ment, the great size of the egg, and its chitinous shell, are 
decidedly Rotiferous.* A great cerebral ganglion, exactly cor- 
responding to that of Notommata aurita, N. tripus, and others, 
is found in Taphrocampa, and indistinctly in D. antenniger. 
The mastax, so eminently characteristic of Rorirmra, is fully 
developed in Taphrocampa, where, however, the form and 
extent of the alimentary canal are as in Ohetonotus. The 
furcate posterior extremity is not a tail but a foot, as in Rort- 
FERA, the cloaca opening on its dorsal side; it is not indeed 
separately moveable even in Taphrocampa, yet its homology 
with the foot of Notommata cannot be overlooked ; it is want- 
ing in T'urbanella, Hchinodera, and Dasydytes; so it is m those 
true Rorirera, <Asplanchna and Anurcea. The very long 
attenuate hairs that radiate from the face in several (perhaps 
in all) of the Chetonoti, which havea singular power of indepen- 
dent vibration, recal the very similar vibratile setze of Floscularia 
and Stephanoceros ; and possibly the little hooked organs which 
I find on the front of OC. maximus, and the club-shaped horns of 
D. antenniger, may have a parallel in the frontal hooks of 
Melicerta. 

In short, if Taphrocampa has a true affinity with Cheetonotus, 
there can be no question that the family belongs to the Ror- 
FERA. It is true there are important diversities between these 
genera, but there are forms which bridge the hiatus. Hchino- 
dera seems to approach closely to Taphrocampa, but Hchinodera 
has much in common with Dasydytes. Turbanella is very 
peculiar, yet I doubt not Schulze is right in allying it with 
Chetonotus. It is, doubtless, a group whose members mani- 
fest great diversity ; but probably there remain many forms to 
be discovered which will further facilitate transition from one 
to another, and illustrate its exterior relations. 

In the cilia-ring on the head of Turbanella in its curious 
setiferous lateral processes, in the form of its head, in the annu- 
lation of Hchinodera and Taphrocampa, and in the long hairs of 
Dasydytes, especially the terminal tufts of D. antenniger,t there 
seem to besome strong points of alliance with Anne.ipa, and I 
am inclined to place the family on the border-ground between 
these two great classes, the Rorirura and the Annutipa, with 
a preponderance of characters belonging to the former. 


* The relative position of the reproductive and the digestive organs is, however, 
contrary to that which obtains in the Rovrrera; in which the latter are dorsal 
the former ventral. : 

t Ibeg to refer, for descriptions and figures of the young forms of some 
marine Annelida, to my Tenby, p. 279, and Pl, xv. 


= 


The Four-horned Trunk Fish. 407 


me 
MWe 
yi 


TM lll i) 


<x, 
LY SSss 
ye SS 


THE FOUR-HORNED TRUNK FISH: A NATIVE 
OF ENGLAND. 


BY JONATHAN COUCH, F.1.8., ETC. 


It was formerly believed that the fishes of this remarkable genus 
were to be met with only in the far Hast, or, at least, nowhere 
except in very warm climates ; and although when voyages had 
become frequent along the coasts of Africa and India several 
Species became known to the observers of Nature, they were for 
a long time regarded only as strange freaks of Nature, which 
might add a new interest to the cabinets of the curious, but of 
which the habits and distribution over the globe could be 
only a little studied. There were indeed a few particulars 
about them in which naturalists who were not travellers were 
fortunate ; for with only a little care they might be conveyed 
home without distortion of shape; which was far from being the 
case generally with numerous fishes of other classes that were 
imported into England from the same regions—illustrations of 
which may be seen in the representations of the fishes of 
Amboina in the work of Ruysch, entitled Theatrum omnium 
Animalium ; and there is even reason to believe that the dis- 
tortions inflicted on some were made designedly, for the 
purpose of rendering what was strange and remarkable, still 
more hideous or curious. 

Jonston published his Natural History of Fishes and 
Whales in the year 1649, and in it, under the name of Piscis 
triangularis, he has given a figure of two species (Plate 45) ; 
but there is no reference to either of them in his text. It is 
one of these, however, to which I would call the attention of 
British naturalists, as laying claim to be regarded as a lately- 
discovered, and, of course, rare visitor to our own shores—the 
evidence of which will be presently adduced, but concerning 


4.08 The Four-horned Trunk Fish. 


which Willoughby appears to be as much at a loss as Jonston ; 
for although he gives a good figure of it in his Plate I. 14, 
under the name of Piscis triangularis cornutus Hlusii, he sums 
up all he knows of its history in saying, that there was an 


example in the Museum of the Royal Society. Linnaeus appears ~ 


to notice the same fish under the name of Ostracion quadricornis ; 


but even in his day he supposes the whole genus to be confined 


to the seas of India. And that any of them should be found 
in Europe was not expected, until the researches of Risso led 
naturalists to understand that a few examples which belonged 
to two species had come within his notice in the neighbour- 
hood of Nice. These are, Ostracion cubicus, Lin., and O. tri- 
gonus, Lin.; and this writer assures us of the certainty of 
what he relates concerning them, although he appears to-have 
been prepared for the incredulity with which his statement 
would be received by many naturalists. A third species seems 
to be hinted at by Dr. Gulia in his Tentamen Ichthyologie 
Melitensis (p. 40 of the Discorso sulla Ittiologia) ; but as no 
description is given, and it had not come under his own inspec- 
tion, we are not at liberty to refer it to the species presently to 
be described. But the question is of no small interest con- 
cerning the authority on which we claim for our own the 
example, of which we give a figure taken from the specimen ; 
and to this the reply is short and precise. The first intimation 
of the alleged fact of the capture on our coast of an example of 
the four-horned trunk fish, was received from Robert Lakes, 
Esq., of St. Austle—himself a well-known naturalist, although 
chiefly in the department of ornithology—and as regards vera- 
city he is beyond a doubt. So curious a fact as the taking this 
fish on the coast of Cornwall, could not fail to lead to further 
inquiry ; in reply to which, the fish itself was sent, with the 
information that it had been obtained from a fisherman of Me- 
vagissey, on the south coast of Cornwall, and that this man 
affirmed he had taken it in a net at some rather considerable 
distance from land; and, it was added, that this fisherman was 
considered to be of sufficient credit to warrant the belief that 
the information he gave might be relied on. It appears certain 
that this individual could not have been influenced by any 
motives of gain in the information he gave about this fish, for 
the remuneration given him was slight, if, indeed, he received 
any reward whatever. It was elicited also, on further inquiry, 
that a fish exactly similar had been taken about two years 
before this by a man of the same place, 

The character of this genus of fishes is, that the head and 
body are covered with regularly-formed bony plates, which aro 
united together in such a manner as to form a crust or unbend- 
ing shell like a coat of armour, from which structure they 


t 


The Fowr-horned Trunk Fish. 4.09 


derive their name; and the only moveable parts are the mouth 
and lips, a slight border to the slit which constitutes the open- 
ing of the gills, the fins, and tail with its base or joint. There 
are real teeth in the jaws; dorsal and anal fins single and far 
behind, but no ventrals. As the firmness of the crust does not 
allow of motion in the body, the flexibility of the jomts of the 
back-bone is unnecessary, and therefore they are united into 
one. 
The length of the specimen is ten inches, of which the crust 
measures seven inches and seven-eighths; the height three 
inches and three-eights where deepest. The head slopes sud- 
denly from the eyes. The general form compressed, sharp along 
the back, flat and wide on the belly ; the section of the shape, 
therefore, triangular. Hyes, in front, elevated ; and above each 
a prominent ridge, from which projects forward in a slight 
curve’ a stout spine—the pair resembling horns. The snout 
projects a little, mouth small, lips covering a row of conical 
teeth—the upper row eight, below six, as far as they can he 
counted. Gull openings, a perpendicular slit. The back rises 
in a ridge from between the eyes, and slopes down again 
toward the dorsal fin; and about an inch and a half before this 
fin is a small elevation—the fin itself narrow at the root, but 
extended. Anal fin further back, nearer the tail than the 
dorsal. A prominent spine posteriorly on each margin of the 
flattened under-surface, from which the thin border rises to 
the place where the moveable caudal portion protrudes from 
the case in a straight rudder, ending in a caudal fin—the ends 
of which in this example are injured. The head and body are 
covered with hexagonal plates, marked in lines round a raised 
centre. The pectoral fin narrow. Colour, yellowish-brown, 
but obviously faded. 


410 The Side-fruiting Mosses. 


1, Fontinalis antipyretica (nat. size).—2. Stem-leaf—3. Fruit.—4. Perichztial 
Leaf (mag.) 


THE SIDE-FRUITING MOSSES. 


BY M. G. CAMPBELL, 
(With an Illustration.) 


Hituerto we have treated only of the Acrocarpous, or terminal- 
fruiting mosses, and though we have, from want of space, left 
unnoticed many of the most beautiful of that section, as the 
Bryums, Muiums, Sphagnums, etc., some of which we may 
describe hereafter, we purpose to devote this paper to the 
Pleuwrocarpi, or side-fruiters, and of these, the three Fontinales, 
or water-mosses, fruiting in June and July, have a fructifica- 
tion eminently microscopic: indeed, so buried is the fruit 
within the leaves of the perichgetium, which, like a large imbri- 
cated, persistent calyx, conceals, and appears almost to smother, 
the little seed-bearing urn which nestles within it, that any 
one unfurnished with a tolerable lens might well be excused 
for pronouncing them barren, even when rich, as they fre- 
quently are, at the lower part of the elder stems, with little 
branchlets bearing numerous immersed capsules. 

The Fontinalez are pleurocarpous perennial mosses, growing 


The Side-fruiting Mosses. All 


in water, chiefly in rivulets, where their rooting base attaches 
itself to stones or stumps of trees, and the rest, 7. e., the. stem 
and branches, float hither and thither with the stream, like so 
much vegetating hair; being weak, flexible, and somewhat 
fragile, and the lower part of the stem being nude, or almost 
nude of leaves; the cellular tissue apparently absorbed in the 
vascular to strengthen the lower part of the stem and the 
fibres of the root, by which it holds its place upon whatever 
object they have grasped. They bear a dioicous inflorescence 
with lateral flowers inserted among the leaves, but neither they 
nor the branches are strictly axillary in Fontinalis as in most 
other mosses, but are inserted a little higher up than the 
axille of the leaves, and sometimes even at the side of the next 
leaf above. And here we do not think we can do better than 
quote a passage from Mr. Wilson; he says :— 

“During the development of the fruit, the gemmiform 
flower is enlarged and elongated, and becomes a perichetial 
branch, the perichetium being composed of about four spires 
of imbricated ieaves, distinguished from the stem leaves by 
their larger dimensions and more firm texture, closely 
applied to the young capsule and torn to shreds as it swells to 
its full size; they are inserted so high up that the vaginula in 
this genus seems to be almost wanting as a distinct organ, the 
upper part of the ramulus serving that office. The curious and 
extremely beautiful peristome should be examined in a recent 
state, before the lid is fallen away, in order to see it in perfec- 
tion. If fine transverse sections of the somewhat unripe fruit 
are placed under the microscope, the structure of the peristome 
will be most advantageously exhibited, and its exquisite sym- 
metry will much interest the observer.” ; 

_ We have preferred thus giving the words of another, lest 
our own should be accused of enthusiasm. The genus derives 
its name from its aquatic nature. 

Fontinalis antipyretica, or the greater water-moss, of which 
we give an illustration, with the fruit, and a stem-leaf, and 
pericheetial leaf magnified, is the frequent inhabitant of our 
ponds and streams, with stems a foot long or more, and much 
subdivided, alike carpeting the home of stagnant waters, 
waving in the mountain streamlet, covering the stones in arti- 
ficial waterfalls, or dancing in the mill-race; in fine, growing 
wherever a stone is submersed in pond or lake, and there 
becoming the abode and the sustenance of numerous paludine, 
etc. The leaves are widely ovate, acuminate, or ovate lanceo- 
late, sharply keeled, almost doubled, or complicate, and with 
the peculiarity of having all the leaves of the same branch with 
the margins reflexed on the same side, whether right or left, 
the other margin being plain. They often split down the 


412 The Side-fruiting Mosses. 


middle along the keel, and then the half leaves look like the whole 
leaves of the next species, I’. squamosa. They are of a yel- 
lowish-green when young; olive or lurid green when old; 
entire or obscurely denticulate at the apex, placed in a trifari- 
ous manner upon the stem, and nerveless. The pericheotial _ 
leaves, as will be seen in the illustration, are obtuse and 
jagged at the apex.* The capsules are sparingly produced, 
except on the lower part of the older branches, where they are 
numerous, each one immersed in its closely-sheathing peri- 
cheetium, and having the lid alone protruded, till it falls off, 
when the blood-red peristome appears like a minute circlet, 
fringing the tip of the little oval bundle formed by the capsule 
and pericheetial envelope. ‘The peristome is double, the outer 
one consisting of sixteen equidistant, linear-subulate, very long 
teeth, much trabeculated internally, and cohering at the apex 
in pairs; the pairs tortuous and incurved when dry, erect 
below and spreading in the upper half when moist ; the inner 
peristome is a beautifully tesselated cone, coloured like the 
outer teeth, with sixteen salient angles and the same number 
of vertical filiform cilia, united together by numerous hori- * — 
zontal cross-bars, and “ elegantly studded internally with pro- | 
jecting spurs,” the remains of the fractured cellules whose 
rupture has set it free. The lid is narrowly conical, acute, half 
as long as the capsule, and wears a culyptra of nearly the same 
size and shape. ‘The spores are small and greenish. 

The name antipyretica was given to this species by Lin- 
neeus in allusion to its being employed by the Swedes as an 
“insurance against fire ;” for the moss possessing the peculiar 
property of not being inflammable, they fill up with it the spaces 
between the chimney and the walls of their houses, by which 
the both exclude the air and guard against accidents by fire. 

There are two varieties of this moss, the one we figure was 
culled from Longfords Lake, near Avening’, in Gloucestershire, 
in the year 1857. Its stems are red and shining, showing 
between and through the leaves, their graceful curvatures 
making the leaves appear somewhat distant. In that lake two 
varieties grew, as it were, side by side, one more robust, the 
other more slender, with less complicated leaves, and with 
fasciculated, not spreading branches. 

Fontinalis squamosa, or the Alpine water-moss, has still 
shorter stems, with more crowded, slender, fasciculated 
branches, and crowded leaves of a dark lurid green, which are 


* To the twinkling, twitching movement in the particles of chlorophyll in the 
cellules of 7. antipyretica, allusion is made in the May number of this journal, at 
p- 271. The same molecular motion is often very conspicuous, under the 
microscope, in the foliage of water, or moisture-loving plants especially, as the 
Sphagni, Jungermannia, ete., inhabitants of wet and marshy places. 


The Side-fruiting Mosses. 413 


rounded, not keeled at the back as in antipyretica, concave and 
erecto-patent, glossy when dry, lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, 
only half as wide as in the preceding species, nerveless, and 
entire, but the margin never reflexed, while the perichetial 
leaves are also narrower, and subserrulate at the apex. The 
capsule and peristome bear considerable resemblance to those 
of F’. antipyretica, from which, however, the plant may always 
be distinguished by its smaller and concave, not carinate leaves 
of a lurid green, its more slender stems, and more numerous 
fasciculate branches. It inhabits mountain rivulets, but is not 
generally found bearing fruit. 

The bristly water-moss, Dichelyma capillacewm, is also an 
inhabitant of Alpine rivulets, but very rarely met with, its only 
undoubted European haunt seeming to be the province of 
Westermann, in Sweden, though it was once supposed to have 
visited Loch Awe. In British North America Mr. Drummond 
is said to have encountered it in abundance, and we give a 
brief description of it in hopes that some enterprising Scottish 
tourist may immortalize his name by drawing it forth from the 
custody of some Highland loch or streamlet, where its slender 
stems may be hidden by the multitude of other organisms that 
are striving for existence within its waters. 

Dichelyma, named from dixaw, to divide, or be divided into 
two parts, and gavyos, an envelope or covering, in allusion to the 
calyptra being cloven, has slender, rather rigid and brittle 
stems, varying from three to six inches in length, the branches 
few and widely spreading, either secund or stretching in two 
directions ; with leaves more or less crowded, slightly falcate, 
erecto-patent, secund, subulato-setaceous, carimate, of a dull 
green, but glossy when dry, the nerve much excurrent, and 
forming the upper attenuated portion of the leaf, which never 
becomes flaccid, scarcely alters in drying, and in allusion to 
which the term capillacewm, or bristly, is applied to this species. 
The areole are narrow and elongated, the pericheetial leaves 
very long, convolute, nerveless, and overtop the capsule, which 
is pedicellate, of thin texture, and shortly oval form, with a wide 
mouth destitute of annulus, and a conical or rostellate lid, 
which is large in proportion to the capsule; the peristome also 
is large, the outer teeth of a tawny red, granulated, almost 
linear, perforated along the medial line with from twelve to 
fifteen articulations, but fragile and fugacious ; the inner peris- 
tome is composed of sixteen still narrower articulated cilia, per- 
forated like the teeth, which however they exceed in length, 
have from fifteen to twonty joints, are marked with a medial 
line, papillose, of an orange-red colour, and free except at the 
summit, where they are united by a few cross-bars, The 
spores are small, and the inflorescence is dioicous. 


414. The Side-frwiting Mosses. 


We now turn to 


THE HYPNA, OR FEATHER-MOSSES, 
a genus so abundant in our isles that, according to some 


authors, they compose one-fifth of our whole vegetation. They ~ 


have a lateral fructification, with cernuous curved capsules on 
long fruit-stalks, bearing a dimidiate calyptra, and haying a 
double peristome ; the outer of sixteen equidistant, lanceolate- 
acuminate teeth, trabeculated on the inner side, reddish-brown 
or yellowish; the inner peristome is formed of a membrane 
divided half way down into sixteen carinate processes alternating 
with the outer teeth, and having intermediate cilia, which are 
sometimes solitary, sometimes two or three together. The lid 
is conical, and more or less obliquely rostrate from a hemis- 
pherical base. 

The species are all perennial, and grow in almost every kind 
of locality ; but vary much in size, in habit, in the mode of 
vegetation, the form of their leaves, and the position of their 
flowers. The generic name is derived from wtzrvos, sleep, which 
tells of the use formerly made of it; and even now, a pillow 
stuffed with dried hypnums is by some thought to promote 
sleep as much as a pillow of hops. They ripen their capsules 
chiefly in the winter months; but some come to perfection in 
the spring, and several during the summer. As space would 
utterly fail us to notice half the members of this extensive 
genus, we will restrict ourselves to briefly describing those 
which fruit during July and August, and making a few remarks 
upon some others of which we may have anything new to sie: 
either as to locality, season of fruiting, etc., etc. 

Hypnum delicatulum, then, the delicate feather -MOss, usa 
in July and August, has a pinnatified stem, erect or decumbent, 
clothed with branched vill, or little green jagged processes, 
which cover the stem among the leaves, which leaves, in this 
species, are of a yellowish green, cordate acuminate, somewhat 
plicate, reflexed in the margin, minutely toothed in the apex, 
below which the rather broad nerve ceases, beautifully muricated 
with little sharp prominences all over the back, and even crested 
with them on the keel. It gives off short attenuated branches, 
which are often recurved and taking root at the extremity. 
The pericheetial leaves are entire, not fringed, pale, erect, and. 
lanceolate. The fruit-stalk is smooth, of a pale reddish colour, 
and an inch or more in length; the capsule oblong, curved, of 
a pale brown, with a conical-acuminate lid half as long as the 
capsule, and covered by a yellowish calyptra. Its habitats are 
limestone rocks and chalk hills. We have met with it, in com- 
pany with H.tamariscinum, on the Cotteswold range in Glou- 
cestershire, 


The Side-fruiting Mosses. 415 


This moss has often been confounded with H. tamariscinum, 
but its foliage is of a much paler hue, more closely muricated, 
more acutely pointed, the capsules of a pale brown instead of 
purplish red as in tamariscinwm, and the lid short; whereas in 
tamariscinum it 1s rostrate, with a long beak. The aspect and 
season of fruiting, too, are different; H. tamariscinum being 
proliferous with innovations, the lower parts of which, as well 
as of the stem, are bare of branches, and it ripens its capsules 
in November. 

The ostrich-plume feather-moss, Hypnum Crista-Castrensis, 
is a large and handsome species, fruiting in July and August, 
and producing stems from three to fourinches in length, closely 
pectinated with crowded branches, about halfan inch long, and 
slightly recurved. The foliage is yellowish and glossy, the 
stem-leaves are ovate acuminate, and circinnato-secund; those 
of the branches lanceolate-acuminate, still more circinnate, dis- 
tinctly plicate, and having a recurved margin and serrulated 
apex. ‘The perichetial leaves are erect, butstriated. The cap- 
sule is of a reddish brown, curved and cernuous, on a fruit- 
stall of more than an inch in length, and having a conical 
pointed lid. 

This beautiful moss is a lover of mountainous districts; and, 
though rare with us, is abundant in the fir forests of Switzer- 
land ; it is also found plentifully in some localities in Scotland, 
near Loch Awe, in Argyleshire ; and Ben Voirlich, Hill of Kin- 
noul, near Perth, Ben Lawers, etc., have been given as its 
localities, and we have ourselves most unexpectedly met with 
it on several parts of the Cotteswold range of hills in Gloucester- 
shire. 

Another inhabitant of the mountain, where its shining 
yellow flakes adorn the inclined faces of shady rocks, is the 
elegant little Hypnum demissum, or prostrate rock-feather- 
moss, extensively spreading its prostrate filiform stems, which 
are weak and flaccid, and all stretch out in one direction without 
interlacement, and bearing but few branches, which are short, 
slender, and of a reddish colour. The leaves are elliptic-lanceo- 
late, entire, with a reflexed margin, loosely imbricated, slightly 
spreading, somewhat secund upwards, and with narrow elon- 
gated areolee. The pericheetial leaves are erect and lanceolate ; 
the very slender fruit-stalk is smooth, reddish, and about half 
an inch in length, bearing the small, horizontally cernuous, 
pale brown capsule, whose lid has a long slender beak ; and the 
capsule becomes contracted beneath the mouth in drying. 
Cromagloun Mountain, near the Upper Lake of Killarney, and 
near Glengariff, Ireland, also near Beddgelert, North Wales, 
are given as its habitats. 

A fruiter in June and July is Hypnwm incurvatum, or the 


416 The Side-fruiting Mosses. 


incurved feather-moss, which grows in darkish green patches 
on walls and stones in shady situations, chiefly in limestone dis- 
tricts. It has creeping stems, more or less pinnatified, with 
depressed branches, which however curve upwards at the top, 
and the leaves all bend upwards. ‘They are ovate-lanceolate, 
acuminate, entire, and two-nerved at the base; the capsule is 
shortly ovate, cernuous, rather small, with a distinct annulus, 
and a short, acutely-conical lid. The inflorescence is monoicous, 
and the inner peristome furnished with cilia. 

Hypnum pulchellum, the neat mountain feather-moss, or, as 
its distinctive scientific appellation signifies, the little beauty, 
has also a monoicous inflorescence, and ripens its capsules in 
June and July. It may be found on shady rocks in hilly dis- 
tricts, and at the roots of trees by rivulets, where its tiny 
branches, scarcely half an inch long, usually compressed, 
crowded, fastigiate, and more or less erect, form dense green 
glossy tufts, with leaves almost distichous, or two-ranked, but 
rather crowded and assurgent, gradually tapering from the base 
to an acute point; entire and usually nerveless. The periche- 
tial leaves are erect; the reddish fruit-stalk not an inch long, 
and inserted near the base of the fertile branch among the 
roots; its capsule oblong, curved, of a pale brown, suberect, 
with a short, yellowish, conical pointed lid; tapering into the 
fruit-stalk at the base, and contracted below the mouth 
when dry. 

Hypnum Mihlenbeckii, Mihlenbeck’s Alpine feather-moss, in- 
habits Alpine rocks, fruits in July, and grows in dense green 
tufts, which are glossy when dry, half an inch or less in 
height, suberect and brittle, with fasciculate drooping branches 
a quarter of an inch long ; the leaves subcomplanate, subcordate, 
acuminate, evidently serrulate, of firm texture, and either 
nerveless, or faintly two-nerved at the base. The fruit-stalk 
is reddish, less than an inch long, and the capsule, which is at 
first yellowish, ripens into a pale brown, is oblong in form, 
tapering at the base, somewhat inclined, slightly curved, 
striated when dry, and covered with a short conical lid. The 
inflorescence is monoicous, 

In woods, on hedge-banks, and in moist rocky places, may 
be found the prostrate, sparingly-branched stems of Hypnum 
denticulatum, or the sharp flat-leaved feather-moss, which fruits 
during the summer, and has subfasciculate branches arising 
from the base of the stem, whence also the fructification pro- 
ceeds ; the leaves are complanate, glossy, of a light green, 
obliquely ovate, acuminate, two-nerved at the base, the lower 
half of the margin recurved, sometimes serrulate at the apex ; 
the fruit-stalk is about an inch long, reddish, and the capsule, 
more or less tinged with red, has an acutely conical, but not a 


' 


The Side-fruiting Mosses. 417 


beaked lid; the outer teeth are reddish brown, and the in- 
florescence 1s monoicous. 

On Ben Lawers, the favourite haunt of some of our rarer 
mosses, may be found fruiting m August, the rare species, 
Hypnum Halleri, Haller’s feather-moss. It, too, has a creeping 
stem and monoicous inflorescence, but grows in dense brownish 
patches, with short erect branches, crowded towards the in- 
terior of the tuft, the leaves crowded and much recurved, 
roundish ovate, shortly acuminate, minutely denticulated, 
shghtly reflexed at or near the basal margin, sometimes nerve- 
less, sometimes two-nerved at the base, the areole oblong and 
uniform, somewhat larger than in H. polymorphwum, which this 
species resembles in size. The fruit-stalk is above half an inch 
in length, with erect perichetial leaves and a curved cernuous 
capsule, covered by a yellow, bluntish conical lid. 

Hypnum polymorphum, or the dwarf starry feather-moss, is 
one of the smaller kinds not generally distributed, but forming 
the minute adornment of walls, rocks, and banks in limestone 
districts. It was found near Edinburgh, by Dr. Greville; on 
declivities near the Menai quarries, by Mr. Wilson; on lime- 
stone rocks, near Castle Howard, in Yorkshire, and on the 
ruins of Kirkham Abbey, by Mr. Spruce; and we have repeat- 
edly met with it, richly fruited, in various localities in Glouces- 
tershire. It ripens its capsules in May and early in June, but 
we mention it here because, as far as we know, Gloucestershire 
has not yet been named as possessing it, though it grows, 
freely fruiting, in two or three places on the Cleeve Hill, about 
three or four miles from Cheltenham, and also in the neigh- 
bourhood of Minchinhampton, beyond Stroud. 

It has a procumbent stem, with simple slender erect 
branches, with rather crowded spreading leaves, somewhat 
squarrose, but secund, cordate, or ovate-lanceolate; in some of 
the leaves rather suddenly, and in all much acuminated, entire 
and nerveless. The capsule is oblong, curved and cernuous, 
with a conical lid, and the inflorescence is monoicous. 

Hypnum plicatum, or the plaited feather-moss, too, we met 
with on the 23rd of April, this year, on the side of a stone wall, 
and near its base, at the summit of Leckhampton Hill, overlook- 
ing the valley of the Severn. There was a quantity of the moss, 
but only one solitary capsule, and that over-ripe, so that it had 
lost both calyptra and lid. It has procumbent, irregularly 
branching stems, the branches incurved, elongated, and 
ascending ; the stem tomentose, with short branched leafy 
processes ; the leaves imbricated, almost appressed in the dry 
state, yellowish, rather glossy, ovate, much acuminated, or 
tapering, more or less secund, and plicate, with narrow elon- 
gated areole; the perichetial leaves are pale and glossy, 


418 The Side-fruiting Mosses. 


smooth and erect, but slightly recurved at the apex ; the fruit- 
stalk slender, smooth, reddish, scarcely half an inch long, and 
bearing a small, ovate-oblong, dull reddish-brown capsule; the 
peristome pale yellowish, and, probably from bemg over-ripe, 
imperfect ; but the presence of this one capsule is sufficient to 
establish the hitherto doubtful season of fruitmg, which we are 
inclined to fix for the end of February or early m April; and 
the lofty head of Ben Lawers, in Perthshire, can no longer 
claim to be the only British nurse of the species. 

On the authority of Dr. Beach, Leckhampton Hill also 
possesses near its summit Cylindrotheciwm Montagnei, Mon- 
tagne’s cylinder-moss, another of the pleurocarps, for which 
Ben Lawers is famed. And, on the same authority, Clima- 
etum dendroides, Hooker and Taylor’s Hypnwm dendratdes, 
the marsh tree-moss, is to be found in a marsh at Puckham 
Scrubs, about four or five miles from Cheltenham. ‘This 
species was named Climacium by Weber and Mohr, from 
kripaé, a stair or ladder, im allusion to the barred appearance 
of the inner peristome; not only in its tree-like aspect, but in 
several other particulars it differs from the Hypnums proper. 

The shrubby Thamnium, or Isothecitum alopecurum, the fox- 
tail frond-moss, with its miniature tree-like form, and dendroid 
stem, naked below, may be found in Gloucestershire, but in 
vain shall we look there for the capsules, either in October, as 
given by Hooker, or in November, as given by Wilson, for its 
fruiting season; the writer, however, met with some square 
yards of ground at the foot of a fir-tree grove, at the head of 
Longfords Lake, near Avening, covered with it in luxuriant 
profusion, and freely fruiting, January the 21st, 1858, some 
specimens having twenty-five and more capsules, some of them 
having their oblique long-beaked lids still on, while others 
had dropped their lids, and were exhibiting their pale double 
peristome, very like that of a Hypnum, to which genus it was 
formerly assigned by Linnzeus and others, but from which it 
has been very properly separated on account of striking 
differences. 

Space will not admit of further details, but’ we trust that 
those of our readers who have followed us thus far, will be 
induced to enlarge the sphere of their pleasures by investi- 
gating for themselves this too-neglected department of na- 
ture’s economy. 


SES eS se 


Facts about Iron. A419 


FACTS ABOUT IRON. 


Antiquarigs have, for the most part, decided that an “age of 
bronze” preceded an age of iron; but, although they may 
establish their theory to a certain extent, it cannot be accepted 
as universally or necessarily true, and it is very important, in 
studying the. manners of ancient races, or in examining their 
works, to bear in mind the arguments that favour an hypothesis 
of a totally opposite kind. . When rich ores are readily attain- 
able, and wood to make charcoal is at hand, the most ‘natural 
order of development is that iron should be smelted and 
employed long before the discovery of the mode of making 
bronze; and if any people, who might have extracted iron 
with facility, really began their metal working by a scientific 
combination of copper and tin, it would be only fair to con- 
clude that they did so, not as a result of native development, 
but by the instruction and example of a more advanced race. 
Dr. Percy remarks,* “that of all metallurgical processes the 
extraction of iron is the most simple. Thus, if a lump of red 
or brown hematite be heated for a few hours in a charcoal fire, 
well surrounded by or imbedded in the fuel, it will be more or 
less completely reduced, so as to admit of its being forged ata 
red heat into a bar of iron.” He adds that this primitive 
process requires far less skill than what is employed in the 
manufacture of bronze. The extraction of iron from its richer 
ores belongs to an antiquity transcending the historic period, 
and it is remarkable that it can be effected on a small scale 
without even the help of a furnace, in a simple apparatus 
rather partaking of the character of a forge. Dr. Percy cites 
an example of this, upon the authority of Dr. Hooker, in whose 
Himalayan Journal appears an elegant sketch of a young man 
standing upon a large pair of primitive bellows, which he 
works with his feet. A fascinating young woman. stands 
behind him upon the same machine, and the stream of air 
they impel passes through the bottom of an upright, flat, 
sloping stone, under whose shelter glows a small fire, im which 
little balls of iron are produced. This sketch is copied in Dr. 
Percy’s work. 

In working on a small scale, malleable iron is obtained 
directly from suitable ores. ‘This is the case in the native pro- 
duction of the Hindoos, the Africans, the Borneans, and. all 


* Metullurgy: the art of Extracting Metals from their Ores, and adapting 
them to various purposes of Manufacture, by John Percy, M.D., F.R.S., Lecturer 
on Metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines. Iron and Steel with Illustrations, 
chiefly from original drawings, carefully laid down to scale. Murray. 

VOL. V.—wNO. VI. PF 


420 Facts about Iron. 


other iron-working races in an early stage of metallurgical 
knowledge. In the enormous works of modern times the 
result of smelting is to obtain cast iron, which requires separate 
and costly processes to bring it into the malleable state. 
Ultimately, however, we may expect the success of plans by 
which malleable iron may be obtained directly from the ore, in 
quantities and at prices adapted to manufacturing require- 
ments. ‘Those who desire to know what has been done in this 
direction may consult Dr. Percy’s elaborate work. It is not a 
subject that we intend to discuss in this paper, but we cannot 
help remarking that iron production, under our cumbrous 
patent laws, has got into such a deplorable state of complexity 
and confusion as toindicate a necessity, both in the interest of the 
public and that of inventors, to reconsider our whole system 
of offering the alleged advantages of a monopoly to the dis- 
coverers of new processes and new plans. So far as the 
general public is concerned, there is little doubt that our 
patent laws act badly ; but it is obviously unfair that iventive 
talent should go without its reward, and it does not coincide 
with ordinary ideas of justice that the anxious toil and 
laborious thought of many years should be seized upon by 
outsiders at the very moment when a reasonable prospect of 
remuneration appears. Thus, at first sight, patents as granted 
in this country seem advantageous to inventors ; but it will be 
found that a time arrives in most important branches of manu- 
facture in which this ceases to be the case. Let any one, for 
example, now turn his attention to iron, and he will find the 
patents already in existence surrounding him like pitfalls on 
every side. Schemes unsuccessful, and schemes partially suc- 
cessful by the hundred are found to be under the protection of 
the patent laws. Very often it is quite impossible to ascertain 
the limits to any particular patent without a series of actions 
and appeals, in which the longest purse is most likely to win. 
Thus, a fresh comer into the field buys ‘a pig in a poke” 
when he purchases a patent, and has small chance of peaceably 
enjoying his acquisition, unless it should prove worthless ; and 
little hope of maintaining it against attack, unless he has a 
great capital at his command. We must still come back to 
the moral axiom that those who benefit society by their intel- 
ligence deserve reward, but we much doubt whether anything 
like our existing patent system is calculated to secure that 
desirable end. . 

In this country iron working was probably an ancient art, 
as there is evidence that it was practised anterior to 
Roman times. Dr. Percy cites authorities to show that it was 
understood by the old Egyptians—Mr. Layard found some iron 
work at Nineveh, and Mr, Francis Galton has recently given to 


Facts about Iron. 421 


Dr. Percy a specimen of black slag, not unlike iron slag, 
lately found in “very ancient Sinaitic remains, conjectured to 
be anterior to the time of Moses.” 

_ Many of the iron ores now worked in this and other 
countries would not have suited the early processes, nor would 
they, in many cases, have disclosed their character to the 
imperfect science of early times; but, notwithstanding this 
fact, which would operate in favour of bronze in certain 
localities, it still remains for the antiquary to explain why 
nations who were acquainted with iron should have resorted to 
an expensive and, as we should think, imperfect substitute for 
a metal that we now regard as a prime necessity of civilized 
life. : 
Of all the substances which modify the character of iron, 
carbon is the most important, enabling it, according to circum- 
stances and treatment, to become hard, elastic, or brittle. The 
mode of the existence of carbon inits compounds with iron is 
by no means well understood. Dr. Perey states that it is 
partly determined by the conditions under which the metal is 
heated and cooled, at temperatures very far below its melting 
point; and he adds that, “‘ Professor Abel, of the Arsenal, 
experimented on this point a few years ago, and found that 
hardened steel wire dissolved in hydrochloric acid without 
residue ; whereas the same steel in the softened state yields by 
such action a dark flocculent carbonaceous residue when acted 
upon by the same acid.” Steel, in its three states known as 
*‘blistered,” ‘‘tilted,”’ and “‘hardened,” yields a different residue 
or solution. It seems, on the whole, to be proved that carbon 
may exist in iron in the state of mechanical diffusion, and also 
in a state of chemical combination; but neither Percy nor any 
other chemist has succeeded in throwing much light upon the 
carbides of the metal. It is very curious that hammering 
should affect steel so as to change the propertion of its carbon- 
-aceous residue in acids, but “ Caron found that rolled steels, 
ceteris paribus, yielded a larger amount of carbonaceous residue 
than hammered steels.” In this case the mechanical force 
exerted in hammering seems to have passed into the state of a ~ 
chemical force, by which the condition of the carbon was 
changed. Rolling, as a less disturbing action of mechanical, 
force than hammering, produced less effect. 

Dr. Percy, though fully believing in the influence of me- 
chanical force as just described, throws some doubt on the 
amount of action usually ascribed to blows or vibrations in 
rendering iron brittle, and he is not satisfied that it induces a 
crystalline structure. As this question enters so largely into 
safety of railway. travelling, it is hoped that it will receive 
thorough investigation. Pending this, we may remark that the 


422 Facts about Iron. 


condition of iron after fracture must not be taken as necessarily 
showing in what state it existed before fracture occurred. Dr. 
Percy tells us that “when a piece of iron which has been 
melted, and which is largely crystalline, is cautiously hammered 
at a suitable temperature into a shape adapted for rolling, and 
then rolled into a bar, not too thick, it will present either a fibrous 
or a crystalline fracture, according to the manner of breaking 
it, and especially the duration of the act. After nicking it to a 
slight depth on one side with a cold chisel, and then bending 
it slowly backwards from the line of the nick, the fracture will 
be highly fibrous, and may be almost silky. On the other 
hand, if it be nicked all round, and suddenly broken in the line 
of the nick, the fracture will be crystalline, with, it may be, 
only here and there an indication of fibre.” ¥ 
We have stated that the modern processes for smelting 
iron on a large scale produce cast, or carburized iron, and this 
will be readily understood from Dr. Percy’s explanations. 
“The furnace being in operation, or, as itis technically termed, 
in blast, iron-yielding materials (of which the essential part is 
oxide of iron), flux (generally limestone), and fuel, are con- 
tinually thrown in at the top, so that the interior may be kept 
filled up nearly to the filling holes, while slag, or “ cinder,” 
and cast iron continually accumulate in the hearth at the 
bottom, the former flowing out over the dam, and the latter 
being allowed to escape at intervals through the tapping hole.” 
The oxygen of the air blown in to constitute the blast forms car- 
bonic acid with the carbon of the fuel, and this gas, passing 
into the state of carbonic oxide, readily reduces the oxide of 
iron. ‘The ore, or iron oxide, is reduced as it descends in the 
furnace, and as it falls towards the lower and hottest part of 
the furnace the metal “‘ becomes carbonized, and converted into 
cast iron, which trickles down in a molten state to the bottom.” 
The iron not only acquires a large dose of carbon in this pro- 
cess, but likewise takes up all kmds of impurities that are pre- 
sent, and thus needs subsequent treatment to decarbonize it, 
and remove extraneous matters. An expensive and very 
laborious treatment of cast iron is resorted to in our large 
works for the purpose of obtaining the metal in a malle- 
able state. This is technically called “ puddling,” and “ consists 
essentially in stirring about pig-iron molten on the bed of a 
reverberatory furnace, heated by flame, until it becomes con- 
verted into malleable iron, through the decarbonizing action of 


the oxygen of the air circulating through such a furnace.” One — 


of the most remarkable inventions for decarbonizing pig-iron 
is that of Mr. Bessemer. The pig-iron is melted in a suitable 
furnace, and jets of air are then introduced. As the inventor 
states, ‘the air expanding in volume, divides itself into glo- 


SS a) ee nn — 


Facts about Iron. 423° 


bules, or bursts violently upwards, carrying with it some 
hundred weight of the fluid metal, which again falls into the 
boiling mass below. Every part of the apparatus trembles 
under the violent agitation thus produced, a roaring flame 
rushes from the mouth of the vessel, and as the process 
advances it changes its violet colour to orange, and finally to 
a voluminous pure white flame. The sparks, which were at 
first large, like those of ordinary foundry iron, change to small 
hissing points, and these gradually give way to soft floating 
specks of bluish light as the state of malleable iron is approached.” 

As our object is not to write a technical paper on iron manu- 
facture, we shall refer those who want detailed information 
on the various projects of the day, to Dr. Percy’s work, merely 
citing his opinion that for the Bessemer process to be “ generally 
applicable im this country, it must be supplemented by the 
discovery of a method of producing pig-iron, sensibly free from 
sulphur and phosphorus, with the fuel and ores which are now 
so extensively employed in our blast furnaces.” The doctor 
adds, ‘‘the problem may be difficult of solution, but surely it 
is not a hopeless one.” 

In our domestic economy, broken cast-iron vessels are usually 
thrown away ; but the Chinese not only make very thin cooking 
utensils of the cast metal, but dexterously mend holes and 
cracks. . 

Dr. Percy states, on the authority of Dr. Lockhart, how this 
is done. The Chinese tinker scrapes the surface of the broken 
vessel clean. He then melts a portion of cast iron inacrucible 
the size of a thimble in a furnace “about as large as the. 
lower half of a common tumbler.” The iron when melted is 
dropped on a piece of felt covered with charcoal ashes. It is 
pressed inside the vessel against the hole to be filled up, and 
as it exudes on the other side, he strikes it with a small roll of 
felt covered with ashes. The new iron and the old adhere, 
and when the superfluous metal is removed, the job is com- 

lete. 

Among the miscellaneous matters of interest in Dr. Percy’s 
book, not the least curious are those relating to the action of 
sea-water on cast iron, converting it at length into a grey 
porous mass that grows rapidly hot in contact with air. In 
1740 some iron guns that went to the bottom with part of the 
Spanish Armada, were fished up near Mull, in Scotland. On 
scraping them they soon became so hot that they could not be 
touched, and a ship surgeon, who was applied to for an eluci- 
dation of the mystery, suggested that ‘as they went down in 
the heat of action they might not have had time to cool, 
though nearly 200 years had elapsed.” 

The alloys of iron are numerous, and special merits are 


424 Facts about Iron. 


claimed for many of them. On this subject, however, much 
information is still wanted, and when fine steel is produced, it 
by no means follows that it owes its qualities to a minute 
portion of some other metal, or non-metallic substance con- 
jectured to have affected it beneficially. It is of course quite ~ 
possible that minute additions may produce great results; but 

if we may judge from Dr. Percy’s book, very little has been ~ 
accurately ascertained. One alloy of 80 parts zinc, 10 copper, 
and 10 iron, is said to possess very valuable working proper- 
ties, and not to rust in moist air. 

Dr. Perey also mentions Mr. Eckman’s process of case- 
hardening by arsenic. Rasped leather, or other nitro- 
genous animal matter, is made into a sort of porridge with 
hydrochloric acid and arsenious acid. The metal is painted 
over with this composition about one-sixteenth of an inch 
thick, and then heated in a muffle to bright redness. A white 
surface of arsenide of iron is thus obtained, which effectually 
resists rust. ; 

The bulky velume from which we have made the preceding 
extracts forms the second part of Dr. Percy’s Metallurgy, and 
a third part is expected to complete it. The scientific world 
will unanimously applaud the doctor’s labours. He has 
brought together an amazing mass of facts, which perhaps no 
one else had accumulated, and a large portion of which he has 
for the first time made accessible. He has undoubtedly 
achieved a great work; but the second volume, like the first, 
leaves the regret that his talent for exposition and arrange- 
ment is not equal to his enormous metallurgical learning. As 
storehouses of facts, the two volumes are invaluable, but as 
regards the elucidation of principles, or convenience for refe- 
rence, they leave much to be desired. 


Remarkable Weather. 425 
* 


THE REMARKABLE WEATHER OF THE EARLY 
SUMMER OF 1864, AT THE HIGHFIELD HOUSE 
OBSERVATORY. 


BY HE. J. LOWE, HSQ., F.R.A.S., EDC. 


Tue extraordinary heat of May and the equally extraordinary 
cold of June makes it desirable to place on record this singular 
weather of 1864. ‘ 

On referring back to old records we find that on Midsummer 
day, A.D. 1035, so vehement a frost occurred that the crops and 
fruit were destroyed; that on the 2nd of May, 1767, at Ald- 
stone and Cole Fall, there was a great fall of snow and hail, 
the ground being covered in some places to the depth of three 
feet. In this year (1767), on July 13th, there were great floods 
in Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire; on July 4th a prodigious 
quantity of snow fell in Pomerania; on August 5th a great 
storm occurred in, Roxburgh, carrying houses and bridges 
away; on August 12th, at Leeds, the river rose six feet m an 
hour, being higher than for twenty years, and destroying forty 
bridges ; that during the month of May, on the 12th, a dread- 
fal thunder and hail-storm passed over County Fermanagh ; 
another on the 16th at Harlstown, Scotland, the hail being 
four inches in circumference, and on 31st, a third, occurring at 
Nottingham, Norwich, and London, accompanied by a N.W. 
gale. In Herefordshire there were fewer apples than for 
twenty years previously, and scarcely any walnuts. 

In 1773; on May 6th, at Birmingham, snow fell to the 
depth of twelve inches, followed, from the 18th to the 27th, 
by the highest floods ever known in May, and which were 
general throughout England. Harthquakes occurring in Staf- 
fordshire and Shropshire on the 30th of June and Ist and 2nd 
of July. ) 

Ind 780, at Nottingham, on May 20th, a severe frost; on 
the 28th the temperature 75° in shade, on the 29th 81’, and 
on the 30th only 57°. 

In 1794 the greatest heat and the greatest cold began to 
be recorded at the Royal Society, and in 1840 at the Royal 
Observatory, so that for the last seventy years we have a con- 
tinuous series of observations, and from others of Dr. Dalton, 
Mr. Luke Howard, and Mr. Bent, the series can be extended 
back to 1785; and a descriptive history as early as 1752, or for 
113 years, and in no instance has the temperature of the 18th 
and 19th May, 1864, been reached, nor the cold of June Ist, 
1864. 

In order to compare the observations, we will select Man- 


426° Remarkable Weather. 

chester (Mr. G. V. Vernon), the Royal Observatory, and’ High- 

field House. : 
Comparison of the greatest heat at the Royal Observatory, 

the Highfield House Observatory, and at Manchester, between 

1856 and 1862, in May and June :— 


Roya Hicurietp HovsEt 


OBSERVATORY. OBSERVATORY. MANCHESTER. 
Year. May. June. May. June. May June. 
1850 76°5 85:1 79:2 872 — 780 
1851 74:2 87°0 770 85'3 75°0 oa 
1852 73°4 72°7 790 770 730 76°5 
18538 788 81:0 82:0 82:0 Gk 79°0 
1854. 70°5 78°5 730 79:0 720 770 
1855 81°5 83°5 81:9 83'3 84-0 83°5 - 
1856 72:0 83:71 70°8 842 78'°3 770 
1857 80°2 92°7 72'8 88:0 77'8 90°5 
1858 81:2 94°5 840 92°2 — 91°2 
1859 770 81:3 785 80°4 82:0 81°8 
1860 76°5 740 79°8 79,0. 78:0 71:4 
1861 80:2 81°8 79°8 82°8 722 840 
1862 81°5 73D Whevd 764 76°0 — 


In the above years it will be seen that the maximum heat 
in May reached 81°5 at the Royal Observatory, and 84°°0 at 
Highfield House and Manchester; and in June, 94°5 at the 
Royal Observatory, 92°°2 at Highfield House, and 91°:2 at Man- 
chester. In May it was warmer at Highfield House than at 
Manchester from 1851 to 1854, colder from 1855 to 1859, and 
warmer from 1860 to 1862; at the Royal Observatory it was 
colder from 1850 to 1855, warmer in 1856 and 1857, colder in 
1858 to 1860, and warmer in 1861 and 1862. 

In June it was warmer at Highfield House than at Man- 
chester, except in the years 1855, 1857, 1859, and 1861 ; it 
was warmer at the Royal Observatory, except in 1850, 1852, 
1853, 1854, 1856, 1861, and 1862. 


The mean of the greatest heat of all these years being :— 


Greenwich . . 77-2 in May, and 82:2 in June, 
Highfield House 78°1 ies S2'4- .,, 
Manchester . 769 s B09 = ,, 


Highfield House being warmer than Greenwich in May by 
0°9, and in June by 0°2, and warmer than Manchester in May 
by 1°2, and in June by 15. 

Comparison of the greatest cold at the Royal Observatory, 
the Highfield House Observatory, and at Manchester, between 
1850 and 1862, in May and June :— 


Remarkable Weather. 427 


May. JUNE, 

Roya HIGHFIELD Man- | Royat Hicgurirrp Mawn- 
Year OBSERVATORY. Howse. CHESTER.) | Ozs. Hovusr. CHESTER. 
1850 ole7 31:2 — 36°2 30°] — 
1851 30°0 31°0 36:0)... |+.38°5 38°0 —_ 
1852 29°3 32°0 30°0 41:0 39°7 38:0 
1853 32°6 30°4 30°0 SoS) Vie 40:0 
1854: 34°8 314 31°5 41-4: 41-0 42°0 
1855 28°3 26°8 240 39°3 eas 38°5 
1856 29'8 30°9 28°8 Al-1 39°71 39°0 
1857 31d 30:0 30°0 38°8 40°0 43°8 
1858 32°1 30°9 — 45°3 39°5 41°8 
1859 oo L 30°8 30°8 A43°5 41°9 44e7 
1860 32°5 30:0 33'0 43°5 39°5 40°8 
1861 33° 28°7 23:0 42°9 A42°5 44-0 
1862 37°8 30°90 38'0 ABA: 39°7 — 


In these years Highfield House was colder than at the 
Royal Observatory in May im all years, except in 1852 and 
1856 ; and in June, except in 1855 and 1857. Highfield House 
was colder than Manchester in May, except in 1852, 1853, 
1855, 1856, and 1861; and in June, except in 1852, 1855, and 
1856. 

The mean of greatest cold im all these years gives the 
following result :— 


Greenwich . . . 32:3 in May, and 41-1 in June. 
Highfield House . 30:7 i, Soa Danae 
Manchester. : . 30:9 is 41°3 i 


Highfield House being colder than Greenwich in May by 
1'-6, and in June by 16; and colder than Manchester in May 
‘by 0° ‘2, and in June by 1°:8 

From the Royal Society and Royal Observatory Records. 

The highest readings in May, and greatest cold in May © 
and June, with the maximum heat in June of those years :— 


Greatest Heat Greatest Cold. Greatest Heat. 

in May. May. Juné, June. 
Year. ‘ ul 2 k 
1795 81°5 36'0 41-0 775 
1807 840 44:0 48°0 , 770 
1808 82:0 42°0 48:0 760 
1883 81°4 434, 46°6 80°8 
1841 82°8 } 41°2 40°3 78°5 
1846 84'°3 38°83 49°, 91-1 
1847 862 360 41°0 80°4 
1848 83°0 33'5 38°7 78°4 
1855 81°5 28°3 39'3 83°5 
1857 80°2 31°5 38'8 92°7 
1858 81:2 32°1 45°3 94°5 — 
1861 80°2 33°4 42°9 81°8 


1862 81°5 37°8 43°4, 73°5 


428 Remarkable Weather. 


From 1785 to 1807, Mr. William Bent kept a register in 
London, during which time the thermometer never reached 
80° in May, except in 1807. 

Dr. Dalton’s observations at Kendal only give once a tem- ° 
perature of 80° in May, which occurred in 1788. 

My late lamented friend, Mr. Luke Howard, in his series of 
observations from 1797 to 1832, made at Plaistow and Totten- 
ham, near London, gives the following : — 


R06, Mey 290: aha ce ota a 
TEOY,.:.:;5 \ Obes Hake cea, bole anes 
1e09' LB Yen ae 
HT 95 Oa ae aaa 
L815; beg0226 Ripihnae 2 BG 4 
(B20). BO ene Se ce need 
1805 OE, I Ue hee 
NBS ng BS I 2 ae 


SOOW, Vissi : 81 
In Mr. Glaisher’s valuable tables of the mean temperature 
of every day in the year, based on forty-three years’ observa- 
tions, we have— 


May 1to 38, mean 50°0 to 5 
» 4,14 4. 518.9 
"92 15 » 1%, 2» 52°2 29 52" 
» 18,,21, ,, dd] 4, 5 
9» 22 ,, 27, » oa 2 5) 
“eae GOB: (Ble ry oe DORA AD 
Ah = I 3» 064 56°8 
The mean temperature of the coldest day i in May was 5 36-2 
on the 3rd, in 1832; the mean temperature of the hottest day 
in May was 72°°6 on the 15th in 1833, giving a range of 362 
in mean temperature. 
The mean temperature of the coldest day in June was 45°0 
on the 7th in 1814; the mean temperature of the hottest a 
in June was 76"1 on the 13th in 1818, giving a range of 31"1 
in mean temperature. 
In 1864 at Highfield House the mean temperature ex- 
ceeded the average on every day up to the 22nd, except on the 
Ath and 9th, on the warmest days being :— 


BS. aie Pe 
ea! 
bE ie a 
AIT 8.00 OBE 
pee ee ae 
SaaS ty)! Se 
Bear pda. Gu Oe 


Remarkable Weather. 429 


Again— i 
May 26 WAN davis ue 46-5 
ay oe vane pam ATG 
entree: “EO eee mete ee AOS 
Frosts occurred on May 24, 27:3 on grass, and 34-9 at 4 feet | 
” 2» 27, 249 » 33°9 2» 
ee » 30, 315 » 39:0, 
55 June 1, 23°3 Fe 31023 ee 


: 2, 23°5 iy 343, 
The maximum heat in ‘shade, and greatest cold, in 1864, 
was— 


On May 14, 75:2, greatest cold, 40:9 
= (Lo; Sieg, ns 55°7 
gO; 828, y 56°1 
bts, OO, ry 49°8 
28 S07, a 53:7 
nit 9589'S, mh 56°2 
yi B04 SO2 45 3 53° 

21, 65: 7, 43 50°7 


At Highfield Bode the greatest heat of May from 1842 to 
1864 has been— 


MOAB ica) a yalran ys LS 
OBZ 6 ay eel ic ate BAD 
RSA ban! Cileh ag ae Oak 
1853 82:0 


Tere ay Be ag 
Pong eR eT eG Copa 
1864. 89°3 


So that our greatest touts in “1864 ae exceeded every year in 
May by 5°11 ; and, were we to carry our investigations through 
the months of June, July, and August, we should find very 
‘few days in these hotter months in which the temperature 
rose above 89°3. 

It is worthy of remark that almost invariably hot weather 
in May has been followed by violent atmospheric disturbances, 
such as thunder-storms, hail-storms, gales, and floods, and 
even not infrequently by earthquakes and disturbances of the 
sea. 

Taking the thirteen hottest years in May from 1794 to 
1862, as recorded by the Royal Society and Royal Observatory, 
it will be seen that, in eight years the temperature never rose 
to the same height again during the summer, whilst in 1846, 
1857, and 1858 it became very hot. 

As a contrast to the great heat of May, 1864, we will turn 


430 , Remarkable Weather. 


to the great cold of the 1st of June, 1864, in the neighbour- 
hood of Nottingham (at 4 feet elevation), viz.:— — 


Highfield House Observatory, greatest cold 30°5 


Beeston Observatory . . if (ces 
Lenton Grove (Mr. Samuel Morley),, CRIES 
. Highfield House, ii cold on grass . 28°2 
Beeston . . 23°3 


This frost was much more severe in the valley a quarter of 
a mile from both Highfield House and Beeston, Mr. Morley’s 
instruments being half-way between these two observatories. 

The damage done at Highfield House is confined to the 
leaves of gourds and partial destruction of leaves of potatoes, 
and French and Kidney beans. At Mr. Morley’s, young shoots 
of holhes and walnuts were killed, and more damage done to 
beans and potatoes. At Beeston, except in sheltered places, 
the potatoes and beans were cut to the ground; young shoots 
of ash trees killed, as well the small branches of Rose Gloire de 
Dijon, Polygonum Sieboldtii, Rhododendrons, and partial 
damage to the bloom of strawberries and the fruit of apples, 
pears, and gooseberries. Much greater damage was done six 
miles north of this place, at Basford and Bulwell, and where 
the thermometer must have been considerably lower. Here in 
every direction beans and potatoes were killed to the ground, 
every leaf of the walnut destroyed ; nearly all the apples, pears, 
plums, nuts, and gooseberries, the young shoots of hollies, and 
even those of the English oak. 

In referring to the same records of the Royal Society and 
Royal Observatory as examined by Mr. Glaisher, we obtain the 
following as the coldest years in June :— 


1797 . . . greatest cold, 40:0 
UBOR iy, twuslts ‘ » 40°0 
aU os | (ial a 5», 40°3 
e848... i nye. aD a 
BOAO Cre. Fk oy » 38°6 
BO50 jar ns v » 9362 
oS re iy aa 
hy (Se i) 5g OBO: 
Ba bll hits u » 39°83 
1857 38°8 
My own observations at Highfield House giving— 
1848 . . . greatest cold, 40-0 
LS4B aie «sv 43 yy AOL 
1S aB res. fu if » 930'°8 
ABB ysis ‘ Mes | 


IBS Laie 3 » 9380 


Remarkable Weather. 43] 


1852. . . greatest cold, 39-7 
oS ae + i owe 
PSao OF 4 , joes) 
SOO Ate ‘ Pe oot 
SI (amen ys » 40:0 
IPs sha ged Ne 39°5 
SOOT Sau A Poo 
NCIS AR is ome o ero 7 
1864 30°5 


So that the pare et on the Ist of June, 1864 was 4°°6 
lower than had been recorded before in June since 1797, and 
there is no year nearly so.low, even if we go back to 1785 
whilst, if we take Mr. Morley’s reading of 27°5, which is quite 
correct (made by an excellent thermometer of Messrs. Negretti 
and Zambra, compared by my Kew standard), we have 7°°6 
below any other reading, and 87 below the lowest reading in 
London. 

* In conclusion, a few words on the weather of May al 
have its bearings on the subject. 

The movement of the wind from the Ist to the 21st was— 


From Ist to 5th, direct, 1260; retrograde, 1012 


, 6thtol0,  ,, 635; a 472 
SAN eons Gets cheat G2 o 1384 
», 16th to20, 4, 3275; onal liy 


The direct exceeding the retrograde movement by 1611s, or by 
44 complete revolutions. The greatest changes occurring on 
the 15th; direct, 956°, retrograde 888°; on the 18th, direct 
50; retrograde 922°, and on the 20th, direct 1440°, retro- 
orade 675. 

On the 19th, a few minutes before the time of greatest 
heat, viz., 2°30 p.m., the thermometrical and hygrometrical 
conditions of the air were— 


Temperature in shade . . . . 89:0 
Wet bulb thermometer. . . . 67:9 
Temperature of the dew point . 53°] 
Hlastic force of vapour, 0°404 of an inch. 
Weight of vapour in a cubic foot of air, 4°2 grains. 
Additional weight of vapour required to saturate a cubic 
foot of air, 10:2 grains. 
Degree of humidity (100 = saturation) 29. 
Weight of a cubic foot of air, 508°8 grains. 
Weight of the barometer reduced to the sea-level, 30°204 
inches. 
Pressure of the gases of the air, 29-800 inches, 


432 Magnus on the Condensation of Vapours. 


Whole amount of water in a vertical column of the atmo- 
sphere, 5°6 inches. 

Thunder was heard all the afternoon, and a thunderstorm 
occurred on the afternoon of the 20th. 

On the evening of the 29th the earthquake pendulum 
showed a sensible movement of the earth from WNW. to ESE., 
and that from this time will noon on the 30th the earth was in 
constant gentle movement. 

Rain only fell on nine days in May, the amount being only 
1; inches, the barometer ranging between 29°7 and 30:2 
inches. 

From the 13th to the 20th there was scarcely any ozone, 
and during this period an almost cloudless sky. 


- 


MAGNUS ON THE CONDENSATION OF VAPOURS: 


Tue Archives des Sciences, No. 77, and Poggendorf’s Annalen, 
exxi., p. 174, contain an account of some important researches of 
M. Magnus on the condensation of vapours on the surface of 
solid bodies, from which we extract the leading facts :— 

M. Magnus begins by referring to a former paper, in 
which he showed that a thermo-electric pile grows warmer 
when moist air is brought into contact with its surface, and 
grows cooler under a similar contact with dry air. These 
effects are produced whether the surface of the instrument is 
blackened with smoke, or is kept bright. He considered that 
the elevation of temperature was due to the latent heat 
evolved by the vapour during condensation. Pursuing the 
investigation in a manner that is detailed in the publications to 
which we have referred, the conclusion was arrived at that all 
substances grew warmer when brought into contact with air 
more moist than that which surrounds them, and became 
cooler in contact with air that is more dry. In order, however, 
to enable this action to become sensible, the plates must not 
be too thick. The degree of disturbance varies with the 
nature of the plates employed, with the dimensions of their 
surfaces, and with their thickness ; but the effects are universal, 
whether the surfaces be rough or smooth. In employing glass 
the strongest effect was noticed when the plates were very 
thin, such as are used for microscopic objects or for polarizing 
piles. Experiments were made with brass, glass, gypsum, 
mica, sal gemmi, and alum. When ungreased leather, wood, 
ivory, gutta percha, and certain other substances were 


Magnus on the Condensation of Vapours. 433 


employed, the deviation of the galvanometer was at least as 
great, and sometimes greater than when the dry or moist air 
impinged directly on the thermo-electric pile, showing that 
they condense vapours more readily than the surface of the 
pile. 

M. Magnus arranged a delicate air thermometer, so that 
each bulb was surrounded by a small vessel of glass, each 
glass vessel having a tube proceeding from its neck, immedi- 
ately over the bulb. On blowing air into one of the glass 
vessels the thermometer was not affected; but if the air was 
first dried, then the opposite bulb experienced a cooling 
action, and became warmer when air saturated with vapour 
was introduced. The effect was sufficient to produce four to 
six millimetres difference in the level of the two limbs of the 
thermometer. 

A mercurial thermometer divided into half degrees, and 
sheltered from currents of air, showed under similar circum- 
stances an effect from 0:2 to 0°3 C.; and, when the bulb was 
blackened, the variation reached 0°6 C. 

The rapidity of the effect depends on the ivdlenes and 
condensing power of the plates. Sal gemmi and other dia- 
thermic bodies were instantaneously affected; metallic plates, 
etc., varied according to their conducting power. 

In giving a summary of results, M. Magnus states that 
different substances, organic and imorganic, wax, paraffin, 
glass, quartz, mica, gypsum, various salts, metals rough or 
polished, and also varnished, condense on their surface vapour 
from the air in which they are placed, and whose temperature 
is the same as their own. This condensation has a heating 
action; and if drier air is introduced, a portion of the liquid 
that has been condensed evaporates, and cold is the result. 
Vapours of alcohol, ether, and other substances produced 
effects analogous to those of water. In general it may be 
affirmed that vapours are condensed on solid masses to an 
extent sufficient to produce appreciable changes of tempera- 
ture. From this it will appear that on every solid surface a 
layer of vapour always exists, which becomes greater or less, 
according to the humidity of the air. M. Magnus adds that it 
cannot be doubted that this film of vapour plays an 
important part im many actions that occur on the surface of 
bodies. 


434 Solar Observation. 


SOLAR OBSERVATION.—COLOURS OF STARS.— 
CONSTITUTION OF NEBULZ.—TRANSITS 
OF JUPITER’S SATELLITES. 


BY THE REV, T. W. WEBB, A.M., F.R.A.S. 


In a previous paper we enumerated several modes of eliminating 
the superfluous light and heat otherwise so prejudicial in 
examining the sun. Two very efficient ones, however, remain to 
be described. 

One very generally applicable contrivance is a modification 
of the diagonal eye-piece, which has been long in use, in order 
to avoid the neck-twisting process of observation with an achro- 
matic at great altitudes. For this purpose a plane speculum is 
introduced diagonally into the interior of the eye-piece, or pre- 
ferably into the tube just beyond the eye-piece; and in the 
latter form, if a piece of unsilvered glass is used instead of 
speculum metal, it is obvious that so little hght will be reflected 
from its anterior surface, that a very pale screen-glass will 
be quite sufficient. Sir J. Herschel, the inventor of this 
plan, employed it with a Newtonian reflector at the Cape, and 
Dawes applied it to the achromatic immediately afterwards. 
The reflection from the second surface must be got rid of, to 
avoid the doubling of the image. This may be effected. by 
roughening the back, or by using a prism—a modification 
adopted by Cooke with his large achromatics. ‘I'he end of the 
tube, behind the “ transparent diagonal,’ should be open to 
admit of the free escape of the transmitted heat. This method is 
so effectual, that substituting a piece of transparent glass for 
the small speculum in his great Newtonian silvered reflector, 
Mr. Bird was able to use his 12-inch aperture for nearly an 
hour without inconvenience, even during the intense heat of 
last May. 

The most remarkable apparatus, however, and that which 
has led hitherto to the greatest discoveries, is “‘ Dawes’s Solar 
Hye-piece,”’ so named from the eminent observer who invented 
it. In this arrangement, a metal slide is perforated with a 
series of holes, varying in size from 0°5 (or 0°3, which is safer 
for the screens) down to 0°0075 of an inch, any one of which 
may be brought into the centre of the field at pleasure. ‘The 
greater part of the heat is so completely intercepted by the 
metal, which in turn is insulated by a plate of ivory from com- 
munication with the eye-piece, that the inventor has used this 
simple arrangement on Lassell’s great 24-inch speculum for two 
hours of bright sunshine without unpleasantly heating the eye- 


Solar Observation, 435 


piece.* It is, of course, intended as an auxiliary to high 
powers, with which the diminution of light at the same time 
admits of the advantage of a thin pale screen-glass. In some 
instances of very large spots and a favourable state of air, the 
whole of the luminous surface may be excluded, and the spot, 
under clockwork, or very careful hand motion, be studied alone. 
This admirable contrivance is also useful without the dark 
glass for examining many other celestial phenomena where the 
brightness of neighbouring objects has a disturbing effect. In 
its latest modification, the various perforations and screens are 
arranged on circular plates, technically known as “ wheels.” 
Lassell’s suggestion, that thick paper, covered with white lead, 
such as is used for glazed visiting cards, forms an admirable 
insulator as to heat, may be turned to good account in the con- 
struction of an economical arrangement to answer the same 
purpose. 

There is, however, a totally different mode of observation, 
which, if less striking, and less adapted for minute details, than 
direct vision, is far more easy and convenient—that of projec- 
tion ; in which the image is transmitted through an ordinary 
eye-piece, adjusted by trial till perfect distinctness is obtained, 
toa large opaque screen at a suitable distance behindit. If this 
Screen is white, smooth, and carefully arranged at right angles 
to the axis of the telescope, the correct focus being also care- 
fully determined by repeated trial, this method will give a 
very fair representation of the principal solar phenomena. Mr. 
Howlett, indeed, who makes great and successful use of it, tells 
us that he even gets a more perfect view in this way than by 
direct vision. At the same time, it has the great merit of sup- 
plying us with an accurate and inexpensive micrometer, the 
image of the sun being made, by proper adjustment, to coincide 
with a circle graduated by lines into suitable divisions ; and 
thus the position of the spots may be measured, and their pro- 
gress made evident, from day to day. Carrington, one of our 
best solar observers, employed this mode, projecting the image 
on plate-glass, coated with ‘‘ distemper” of a pale straw colour. 
A large piece of cardboard, with a hole in the middle, to slip 
over the object-end of the telescope in the place of the brass 
cap, must be provided to throw a shade upon the screen ; and 
the latter, if measurement is the object, must be attached to a 
bar made fast to the telescope, and partaking of its motion. 

Hornstein and Howlett, by inserting in the focus of the eye- 
piece, which for this purpose should be of the “ positive” or 


* Mr. Bird, however, with a mirror of only half the diameter, but reflecting 
more light in proportion from its silvered surface, found the brasswork greatly 
heated in about fifteen minutes. Much probably depends on the mode in which 
the apparatus is constructed. 


VOL. V.—=-NO, VI. a G 


456 Oolowrs of Stars. 


Ramsden construction, a slip of glass micrometrically divided, 
project its image, together with that of the sun, as a scale upon 
the screen. ‘lhe latter gives the following dimensions, which 
may be useful as a guide :—Telescope 8? inches aperture, inta 
darkened room; power 80; cardboard screen on easel, 4 feet ‘ 
2 inches from eye-piece ; glass micrometer in focus divided to 
200ths of an inch, each division giving about > inch on screen, 
where a corresponding scale is drawn with ink, every 16th of 
an inch representing about 4”. With other powers, other dis- 
tances would be required for the screen. With a good tele- 
scope, magnifying may, of course, be pushed much further; 
but beyond 80, or at the most 90, the field would probably fail to 
admit the whole disc of the sun. Captain Noble states that he 
obtains extremely beautiful-views of the solar phenomena by 
fitting on to the eye-piece the small end of a cardboard cone, 
1 foot long, and 6 inches across the larger end, which is filled 
by a disc of plaster of Paris, carefully smoothed while wet on a 
sheet of plate-glass; on this the image is projected, the in- 
terior of the cone being blackened, and an opening cut in its 
side to view the face of the plaster screen. 

The observer by direct vision will not be surprised if he 
should find a different focus required for spots in the centre 
and those near the imb. This is a remark of long standing, 
but the direction of change has not been always accordantly 
given. Harding (Schroter’s assistant) thought the focus 
shorter for the marginal than the central spots; Gruithuisen, 
Dawes, and Hind the reverse. Gruithuisen ingeniously ascribed 
this peculiarity to a negative refraction in the solar atmos- 
phere;* Dawes, more soundly, to the effect upon the eye of 
the different intensity of light in the two regions, which is very 
considerable; and this view is confirmed by similar obser- 
vations. that he has made upon other objects, such as the 
a and darker portions of the moon, or the planet 

aturn. 


COLOURS OF STARS. 


The diversity of colour among the stars is a fact which is 
apparent upon even a very cursory survey of the heavens. 
To .some eyes it is probably much more evident than to 
others ; the strange phenomenon of “ colour blindness,”—in 
other words, a defective or incorrect appreciation of difference 
of hue—being, it is said, more common than is usually sup- 
posed. Still, the generality of spectators would at any rate be 
struck with the more extreme cases; for instance, a compa- 

* By a curious coincidence, Sir J. Herschel and Mr, Hunt, in the early days 


of photography, were led to conclude that a class of rays having peculiar negative 
actinic properties issue from the edges of the sun, f 


Colours of Stars. 437 


rison of Wega and Antares: while a more delicate and trained 
vision, such as that of Admiral Smyth, will distinguish very 
minute and proportionally numerous gradations of tint, and 
detect the evidence of it even among those minute ob- 
jects whose presence is only brought out by a patient and 
stedfast gaze. The attention of observers was early drawn to 
this point, Ptolemy, the Egyptian astronomer, having given 
a catalogue of six fiery, or ruddy stars, as far back as the 
second century. The imvention and improvement of the 
telescope did not lead to so speedy’ an enlargement of our 
knowledge in this, as in some other respects; partly, perhaps, 
because the value of such observations was not at first recog- 
nized; and partly because the man who, in other respects, was 
the most qualified of all to give them due prominence—Sir 
W. Herschel—had a preference for ruddy tints, arising either 
from his eye or his specula, which rendered his results less 
valuable as a standard of comparison. Scattered notices of 
colour, after his day, are frequently to be met with; but in the 
works of Smyth and W. Struve, the subject has been treated 
with especial accuracy, and Dembowski and other observers 
are now following it up with close attention. It was not, how- 
ever, till a comparatively late period that a very interesting 
question arising out of it attracted adequate notice,—whether 
those colours might be subject to change? A curious vari- 
ation of hue had indeed been described by Tycho, in the 
magnificent temporary star of 1572, which, having at first 
broken out in splendid whiteness, passed, in its décrease, 
through yellow and red, into a somewhat livid whiteness 
again; but the instance was altogether so extraordinary that 
it naturally might excite no suspicion as to the possibility of a 
similar alteration among more permanent stars. Long after, 
but fully a century ago, Mr. Barker, of Lyndon, pointed out 
the probability that such a change had actually taken place in 
the most eminent possible instance, that of the resplendent 
Sirius itself, to which the ancients ascribed a reddish tint, 
now, as every one knows, totally imperceptible. Several of 
the expressions in classical authors may be equivocal, but 
we can have little hesitation as to the ‘ rubra Canicula” of 
Horace, and still less as to the distinct assertion of Seneca, 
that its redness was more vivid (“ acrior rubor ”’) than that of 
the planet Mars; while Ptolemy, in the list already referred 
to, ranks it, together with Arcturus, Aldebaran, Pollux, An- 
tares, and Betelgeuse, as ‘viroxippos—fiery-reddish. The date 
of its change is unknown; but it seems probable that its red- 
ness had already become inconspicuous in the days of El-Fer- 
gani (Alfraganus), in the middle of the tenth century, and no one 
now would even suspect its former existence ; it may, perhaps, 


438 Colowrs of Stars. 


even be thought to verge a little toward the opposite, or blue, 
- end of the spectrum. But, whatever probability might attach 
to Mr. Barker’s investigation, the subject seems to have been 
subsequently neglected; at least, 1 have not noticed any 
further reference to it till Herschel IZ. and South published, 
in 1824, their catalogue of double stars. In this, remarking 
upon the smaller star of « Cancri, which Herschel I., 1782, 
Feb. 8, had found of a deep garnet colour; Dec. 28, bluish ; 
1785, March 12, blue, and which they had noted as indigo 
blue, 1822, Feb. 22, they take occasion to inquire, “ Are the 
colours of the stars liable to change, as well as the intensity 
of their light? ‘There is no impossibility in this, and the 
point merits attention.” This it has subsequently received, but 
hardly, as yet, in the degree which it deserves; the time,how- 
ever, is now obviously come when a more general and rigid 
investigation may and should be attempted. Fortunately for 
amateurs, the inquiry is perfectly accessible, in the vast ma- 
jority of instances, with moderate instrumental means, and, for 
some not very obvious reason, contrast of colour is frequently 
as perceptible with small as with larger apertures. And it is 
an inquiry which calls for an extended combination of effort, 
for it will be found that it is only by an accumulation of in- 
dependent and concurrent testimony that we can hope to 
attain to any reliable conclusion. We have already touched 
upon this subject at the beginning of our list of double stars 
(IyreLLEctuaL Ossurver, No. 2, p. 148); but it is desirable to 
advert to it again a little more in detail. Many adventitious 
circumstances are unfavourable to the results of any single 
observer. From an inherent defect in their construction, 
achromatic object-glasses do not form an image as perfectly 
free from colour as the derivation of their name implies; there 
is always, under high powers, a narrow fringe of tinted light 
surrounding every bright object in focus ; and as this tint had 
been originally a constituent part of the light of the star under 
examination, previous to its decomposition by the imperfect 
action of the object-glass, the focal image formed by the 
remainder of the light cannot be precisely of its natural hue, 
but must be more or less tinged with the complementary 
colour. By “ complementary ” colour is meant that which 
makes up the complement of white light after any given tint 
has been separated from it :—thus, considering with Sir D. 
Brewster that white is compounded of certain proportions of 
the three primary colours, red, yellow, and blue, we shall find 
that red is complementary to a mixture of blue and yellow, 
forming green; that yellow is complementary to a combina- 
tion of red and blue, forming purple or violet; and that blue 
is complementary to an union of red and yellow, that is to say, 


~ 


Colours of Stars. 439 


orange ; and the same holds good with regard to the secondary 
or mixed colours. If, therefore, a telescope has, as usual, a 
fringe of blue or purple “ outstanding,” as it is termed, when in 
focus, the image of a white star will be, in proportion to the 
strength of the fringe, slightly stained with the comple- 
mentary orange or yellow; such, for example, was the case 
with the noble achromatic at Dorpat—one of the first instances, 
if not the first, of a combination of magnitude with perfection, 
and with which W. Struve’s great catalogue of double stars 
was formed; what were considered moderate powers in this 
instrument, 254 and 420, were preferable to 532 and 682, as 
the latter gave a yellowish tinge. And such is probably 
especially the case with other productions of the Munich 
Optical Institute, whose glasses are said to be characterized, ~ 
notwithstanding their fine definition, by a great deal of out- 
standing blue. In addition to this never-failing source of 
discoloration, the fact that different object-glasses may not 
possess the same intensity, or precisely the same hue, of out- 
standing fringe, may somewhat vary the colour of their 
respective focal images; the material, too, of the older glasses 
would exercise an influence, the crown glass formerly em- 
ployed having a strong green cast, from which the modern 
plate is comparatively free. This coloured fringe is entirely 
absent in reflecting telescopes, whence their focal image, when 
equally sharp with that of the achromatic, is more pleasant to 
the eye; but the Gregorian construction was apt to exhibit a 
“smoky” tinge; and though Newtonians, for some reason 
which does not plainly appear, are less subject to this, it may 
be readily induced by using too much copper in forming the 
speculum metal, or by a slight amount of tarnish. From all 
these defects, it is pleasant to know that the silvered specula, 
now coming into use,* are quite exempt, and nothing can 
surpass the intense purity of their reflection so long as they 
retain their original brilliancy, which, there is every reason to 
believe, may, with due care, be preserved for many years, 
and may be always perfectly restored with great facility. 
We must bear in mind, too, that even the most faithful focal 
picture may receive a tinge from being viewed through a 
defective eye-piece, though this is not much to be appre- 
hended, provided the object is kept in the centre of the field, 


* The following very interesting announcement is taken from a Paris news- 
paper, of May 27:—“ L’ Association pour l’Avancement de l’Astronomie et de la 
Météorologie——tiendra une Séance Générale le 3 Juin, a l’Observatoire, 4 trois 
heures de l’aprés-midi. Le président exposera le but de l’Association, Le 
nouveau grand téléscope de 0m §0, monté équatorialement, sera expliqué; le 
procédé d’argenture du miroir sera expérimenté.” The fraction of a “ métre” 
here given is equal to 2 feet 74 inches, English measure. 


440 ‘ Oolowrs of Stars, 


The atmosphere also introduces a certain amount of occa- 
sional deception. It is obvious that a degree of haze which 
gives a red or yellow tinge to the sun by day must produce 
the same effect on white stars by night; and on this account 
the colours estimated on different nights might be found to 
vary, and even on the same night at different altitudes above 
the horizon, Hence the tints of low-culminating stars can 
seldom be satisfactorily determined, even if we could eliminate 
the effect of refraction, which interferes again in its own way, 
converting circular discs into lengthened and parti-coloured 
spectra, and sometimes, as Smyth observes, making “ a large 
star of a white colour really appear like a blue and red hand- 
kerchief fluttering in the wind; the blue and red about as 
* intense and decided as they could well be.”” The lowest 10° or 
15° of the visible heavens are on this account commonly con- 
demned by astronomers as useless; but Herschel I. found 
traces of this prismatic effect even as high as Regulus, and 
observed that from this cause a star was not always best seen 
in the centre of the field, there being a position where the 
prismatic error of rays passing obliquely through the eye-lens 
may, in some measure, correct that arising from atmospheric 
refraction, Struve, in later days, traced prismatic effects from 
this cause to 80° and even 45° from the horizon. 

Some care should be taken as to the standard and nomen- 
clature of colour, as discrepancies may arise from carelessness 
or inattention on this head. There is unquestionably a natural 
or intrinsic standard of colour in the primary tints of the spec- 
trum, but they do not come before us in an unmingled form 
decidedly or frequently enough to be impressive on the 
memory; practically speaking, each blue that we see may be 
thought greener or more purple, if compared with other shades 
verging more to purple or green than itself; and so our ideas of 
yellow oscillate through a considerable interval between green 
and orange; and red has many variations between orange and 
purple. Besides this, the language of many persons is habitu- 
ally vague; and in the case especially of mingled tints, different 
names might be given by different persons to the same colour. 
To obviate these causes of uncertainty Smyth’s excellent sug- 
gestion should be adopted, of referring all.hues to correspond- 
ing water-colour pigments, where the definite name admits of 
no question, provided only the memory of the eye may be 
depended upon. 

But besides these comparatively external sources of error, 
we have to observe that the judgment of the eye itself may be 
easily led astray. ‘To the difference which, as has been already 
intimated, may exist between the perceptions of different indi- 
viduals, we have to add those which may casually arise in the 


~ 


Colours of Stars. 441 


same eye at different times from varying conditions of the 
retina. To say nothing of the probability that a wearied’eye 
would be less sensitive to slight differences of tint than a fresh 
one, it is well known that the long-continued impression of 
light of any decided colour is succeeded, upon its removal, by 
the appearance of the complementary hue—a fact which may be 
illustrated in a pleasing manner by closing one eye, and look- 
ing with the other at a white object through a piece of strongly 
tinted glass; this having been continued for a sufficient time 
till the sight is accustomed to it, let the glass be suddenly 
taken away, when the complementary colour will fill the whole 
field of vision, to an extent that will be fully manifested by 
opening the closed eye, which of course will see only white 
light. In exactly the same way, the eye which has been long 
gazing upon a bright yellow star, on turning the telescope to 
a white one, will see it tinged with the complementary purple, 
or, if the star was of a red hue, with the corresponding green. 
The cause of this phenomenon may probably be, that diminution 
of sensibility under a long-continued and unvaried stimulus 
which is common to all our perceptions. The retina becomes 
gradually less responsive to the action of any colour, just as it 
is to the action of strong white light, from prolonged exposure 
to its unmixed influence; and therefore when light composed 
of various tints is subsequently let in upon it, it fails in the 
adequate perception of that hue to which it has become as 
it were deadened, and catches chiefly the impression of the 
other colours in the compound, until the retina has had time 
to recover its normal condition. On this account, the observa- 
tion of colour should never be attempted after micrometrical 
“measurement, in which artificial illumination is employed ; nor 
indeed at any time when the retina has just been previously 
stimulated by lamp or candle-light. So Struve I., who paid 
great attention to colours (while his assistant Knorre could dis- 
tinguish none !), has cautioned us that tints observed by day- 
light are not to be depended upon ; the impression of the blue 
background predisposing the eye to ascribe a tinge of comple- 
mentary orange to the star, exactly as we have seen the light 
of a cloudy sky, penetrating through a hole in a window of 
greenish glass, appear distinctly of a hlac colour. 

Another inquiry, and rather a troublesome one, springs 
out of this relation of the retina to colour. Since a coloured 
light of predominant intensity will obviously tinge all lesser 
lights in its neighbourhood with the complementary hue,* a 


* It is probable that intensity of hue may occasionally overbalance mere 
quantity of uncoloured light, At least the slight green tint of Sirius when brought 
into the same field with Arcturus in Chacornac’s ingenious experiment on their 
relative brightness, may be reasonably ascribed to that cause, 


442 Colours of Stars. 


fact which may be easily illustrated by observing the blue 
aspect of the moon in the presence of a powerful lamp or gas- 
light, what certaity can be obtained as to the real colour of 
the smaller components of double stars, where the principal 
has any decided hue? In many instances, as when yellow 
stars are attended by little lilac comites, the suspicion of mere 
contrast naturally obtrudes itself. In others where the tints 
are not complementary, that of the smaller star is sure to be 
modified in some way, unless the principal is white; and even 
then it is not impossible that a small white attendant, lymg 
within the outstanding blue fringe of the large star, might 
receive an orange or tawny tinge from its position—an illusion 
which I think I have noticed. The difficulty can only be fully 
met by inserting a bar or thick wire in the field, and keeping the 
larger star behind it by hand or clock motion, till the eye has 
recovered from the impression of the strongerlight. By this 
method of artificial occultation Arago satisfied himself that most 
frequently the colour of the smaller star was not the mere effect 
of contrast; and Struve I. found that the beautiful blue of the 
two companions o? Oygni (No. 58 of our Double Star List, In- 
TELLECTUAL OxsERvER, Noy. 1862, p. 304) was independent of 
the presence of the large orange star. Where great accuracy 
is desired, and a driving motion can be applied, it would be 
advisable, after hiding the principal star, to close or avert the 
eye for a short time, that an entirely fresh impression of the 
colour of the companion may be obtained. 

When both eyes are of equal goodness, which is by no 
means always the case, the employment of each in succession 
in the examination of colour may prove an useful check upon 
any accidental bias in either. A change, too, of eye-pieces 
may always be expedient. ‘The tints of close double stars are 
seldom so plainly seen with low powers as with higher ones, 
which give a wider separation to the discs. 

Not unfrequently an observer finds considerable trouble in 
satisfying himself as to the tint of a star. In some cases this 
probably happens from the want of a standard of white light 
in the field. Could this be constantly introduced by the 
method of reflection employed by Chacornac to estimate com- 
parative brightnesses (see last number of InreLiecruan Op- 
SERVER, p. 385), it would be a great assistance, and well worth 
the consideration of an observer who made this subject his 
special study. In other instances the eye seems puzzled and 
the tints fluctuate. I have repeatedly remarked this in the 
smaller components of certain double stars—e Piscium being 
a remarkable instance—which are described as blue by Smyth, 
but appeared to me sometimes of that colour, sometimes tawny, 
in the course of a single observation. That this is not alto- 


Nebulee—Transits. 443 


gether a peculiarity of vision I am induced to believe from the 
strange discrepancy that exists as to the colours of « Pisciwm 
(see InreniectuaL Oxsserver, Feb. 1863, p. 55, No. 80). In 
default of a better explanation, I have thought it possible that 
in consequence of intense gazing the retina may have become 
deadened to the blue tint, and consequently would see the star 
white, but for the complementary orange induced by its being 
involved in the outstanding blue frmge of its brighter com- 
panion: this accidental hue in turn disappearing, as the eye 
recovers itself, to give place to the original blue; and so on. 
Mr. Knox agrees with me as to the existence of this 
fluctuation. . 

We must postpone to another opportunity a few more 
remarks upon this subject. 


CONSTITUTION OF NEBULA. 


Those who have studied one of the most remarkable ques- 
tions of modern astronomy—that relating to the true nature of 
nebulz properly so-called—will be extremely interested to 
learn that from the observations of Mr. Powell, at Madras, 
there is great reason to infer that the remarkable nebula round 
the star » Argis is gradually but strikingly changing its 
form and brightness. It is figured in Herschel’s Outlines of 
Astronomy, but is unfortunately not visible in European lati- 
tudes. We shall now have a renewed inducement to a closer 
examination of the analogous nebula in Orion. 


TRANSITS OF JUPITER'S SATELLITES. 


July 2nd. Shadow of I. goes off 9h. 50m. 8th. Shadow of 
II. departs 9h.51m. 9th. Shadow of I. enters 9h. 338m. _ I. 
leaves the disc 10h. 38m. 15th. II. goes off 10h. 2m.; its 
shadow entering 2m. later. 16th. I. enters 10h. 17m. 22nd. 
II. enters 10h. 8m. 25th. Shadow of I. passes off 10h. 5m. 
29th. Shadow of III. enters 9h. 19m. 


———————— 


A GARDEN OBSERVATORY. 


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The Romsey Observatory. AAS 


THE ROMSEY OBSERVATORY. 


BY REV. EH, L. BERTHON. 


(With Illustrations.) 


Tue following description of a very inexpensive garden obser- 
vatory will most probably be acceptable to those amateur 
astronomers who have felt the want of a shelter for their in- 
struments and themselves, and have hitherto been deterred 
from the enjoyment of such a luxury by the supposed costliness 
of its erection. 

In the InrzttecruaL Oxsrrver for May, 1864, appeared a 
description of a cheap observatory recently built by Mr. 
Bird for his large silvered-glass reflector, and it is, the 
writer is assured, with the best wishes of that able astronomer 
that the present account of a cheaper observatory makes its 
appearance. 

It is not necessary to repeat the cogent reasons that those 

who study the hosts of heaven inthe chilly night should do so 
with as much comfort as possible. A cutting wind on a frosty 
night, which agitates both the observer and his telescope to- 
gether, is the best argument in favour of laying out a few 
pounds for such a purpose. 
_. The drawings which accompany this description represent, 
in elevation and ground plan, a very pretty rustic observing- 
house, which the writer erected in the garden of Romsey 
vicarage last summer; it has answered every desired purpose 
- most perfectly, and though the situation is wet, being almost 
surrounded by water, the building itself is remarkably free 
from damp of every kind, not a speck of rust having appeared on 
some bright steel and iron work kept in 1t the whole winter. It 
will be seen that the form of the building is twelve-sided, and 
the following particulars will enable any one desirous of adopt- 
ing the design to build it :— 

Twelve rough fir poles, or any straight trees, about four 
inches thick and eight feet long, are fixed in the groundina 
true circle ten feet diameter, and at equal distances from each 
other, z.¢., about two feet six inches; their tops mustthen be 
cut off level six feet six inches above the ground. 

To do this part of the work quickly and well, a straight 
post should be set up in the centre of the circle, on the top of 
which a horizontal rod five feet two inches long is made to 
revolve ; this will indicate the height of each post and the posi- 
tion of the centre of its head. This being done, some pieces of 
inch deal or other plank must be cut just long enough ta 


446 The Romsey Observatory. 


reach from centre to centre of the posts, and these twelve 
pieces, four inches wide, must be nailed on their tops. 

The walls of the house must now be made by nailing 
weather-boards on the inner sides of all the posts, beginning 
at the upper part, and only leaving the apertures for the door 
and windows. 

The bearers for the floor can be laid next; they consist of 
slabs of any kind of timber with their smooth sides up. Sup- 
posing the brick or stone pedestal for the telescope to be two 
feet in diameter, these slabs will be four feet long; they may 
be supported on logs of wood, or any other blocks, so that the 
floor when laid upon them is one foot above the ground. Care 
must be taken that neither they nor the boards touch the 
pedestal. . 

The ground plan shows the arrangement of the boards, five 
of the spaces being left open in the drawing to show the 
bearers. 

The door and windows can be made according to the taste 
of the builder, but simple and neat cases for them can be 
formed by nailing inch board, planed, against the rough posts. 
Very simple frames for the windows, with one large square of 
glass in each, look quite as well as casement, and are very 
cheap. 

The next part is the roof, which is constructed as follows : 
—Twenty-four pieces of inch plank, about six inches wide and 
between two and three feet long, are so cut that twelve of them 
shall form a circle ten feet three inches wide at its inner edge; 
these being laid out in a true circle, marked in chalk upon a 
flat floor, the other twelve are laid upon them, crossing the 
joints ; they are then all nailed together and clinched. The 
inner edge is then made to a true circle, and smoothed with a 
compass plane. 

Next the rafters must be cut, twelve or twenty-four in 
number, or intermediate as best suits the canvas. ‘The Romsey 
Observatory has twenty-four; they are seven feet six inches 
long, and two by one inch thick. Being cut to the right bevel, 
their feet are simply nailed down to the great wooden ring 
above described; their upper ends meet ona block surmounted 
by a knob. 

Strong canvas is now to be nailed with tinned tacks upon 
the rafters. A space will be left in the roof nearly six feet 
wide, wherein no rafters are fixed. It is the opening for the 
telescope, and is closed with shutters in this way :—Suppose 
the number of rafters be only twelve, then two triangular 
frames of the same wood, each comprising one-twelfth part of 
the cone, will be hinged to the contiguous rafters on each side, 
and the canvas nailed over the joints. A broad thin strip of 


The Romsey Observatory. 447 


wood covering the part where these shutters meet will keep out 
the rain ; the only place where it might come in is at the ex- 
treme apex, and to prevent it a round disk of zinc must be put 
on under the knob, but high enough above the upper ends of 
the rafters to allow the triangular shutters to open. The writer 
has constructed his shutters in four pieces, hinged two and two 
together, so that he can openthem from eighteen inches to six 
feet. 

The roof being completed and well painted inside and out, 
is ready for lifting on, which can be done bodily ; but first the 
gear for causing it to revolye must be contrived. For this 
purpose eighteen iron sash-rollers of good size must be got 
from any good ironmonger. ‘T'welve of these must be sunk in 
the plates of wood on the top of the posts, and just over them. 
The other six rollers must be attached to some stout blocks of 
wood, so as to revolve vertically, and these blocks will be 
screwed to the plate, between the posts, in alternate spaces, so 
that when the roof is on, the inner edge of the great ring or 
circle touches, or may touch them, to prevent the roof going 
off sideways. The twelve rollers should be well oiled, and they 
will be found to bear the roof, and allow it to revolve with a 
very moderate force. 

The shutters must have a bolt to keep them shut; and 
about four bent pieces of iron driven into the top-of the posts, 
with a sort of hook projecting a little over the inner edge of 
the great circle of the roof, will keep it from being lifted by the 
wind. 

It only remains to remark that the extreme dryness of this 
building arises from its being raised a foot clear from the 

ground, but it is better and warmer if roofing-felt be nailed on 
inside the boards. Some very cheap stuff, cotton or linen, etc., 
nailed inside the felt will receive the paper which, with a 
simple cornice, finishes the interior. 

The weather-boards outside can be tarred over or painted 
roughly, and where loppings of oak can be had, some of the 
crooked branches put on in a gothic pattern produce a very 
pleasing effect. The eaves can “be ornamented according to 
taste or local facilities. 

The following is an estimate for materials and labour on a 
high computation, not including the pedestal of the telescope ; 
but in most parts of the country, especially where English fir 
can be obtained, and the wages of a carpenter are less than five 
shillings a day, a considerable saving may be effected, so that 
the expense of this pretty little building will vary from seven 
to ten pounds, according to local circumstances :— 


448 On the Origin of the Light of the Sun and Stars. 


Twelve rough fir poles . 7 Se eee 

One hundred and sixty-five ‘feet of three- 
quarter inch weather-board for sides, 
at 2d. per foot : 

One hundred and sixty feet of inch deal board 
at 23d. per foot, for floor, plate, win- 
dows: door, and entire roof ‘ 

Slabs for bearers of floor 

Fifteen yards of yard-wide canvas at Is. 4d. 

Kighteen sash-rollers (iron) . 

Nails, screws, and tacks 

Lock, hinges, aud bolts ‘ 

Right square feet of glass for windows at 3d. 

Highteen yards of visoniae ¢ for inside of 
weather-boards 

Eighteen yards of lining 

Paint, etc. . 

Labour, twelve days at 5s. 


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ON THE ORIGIN OF THE LIGHT OF THE 
SUN AND STARS. 


BY BALFOUR STEWART, M.A., F.R.S. 


When we turn our eye upwards and behold the sun, or gaze by 
night on the starry firmament, and reflect that those glorious 
orbs have shone through unnumbered ages, we cannot fail to 
be impressed with the majesty of that Great Being who upholds 
them in all their brightness. But if we descend from the great 
First Cause to those modes of action in accordance with which 
we are assured the universe is governed, and search for the 
source and fountain of this brilliancy, we have to grapple with 
one of the most perplexing problems in the history of 
Science. 

And this perplexity has only increased with the progress of 
knowledge, nor has it ever been greater than it is at present. 
In the days of old the sun was looked upon as a ball of fire, and 
no question was raised about the source of his heat. But in 
proportion as we have become better acquainted with the various 
probable sources of light and heat, and are convinced that the 
laws of matter, nay, even its very forms, are sie same throughout 


a ee 


On the Origin of the Inght of the Sun and Stars. 449 


the universe, in the same proportion are we perplexed to assign 
the producing cause of such a wonderful outflow of luminosity. 

All speculations on this subject naturally divide themselves 
into two groups. We have, in the first place, those which 
assume that the sun and stars are fed from within; and, in the 
second, those which assert that they are fed from without. A 
little explanation will make this distinction clear. If we sup- 
pose the sun to be a huge mass at a very high temperature 
which is gradually cooling, and therefore giving out light and 
heat, or if we suppose his brightness to be due to chemical 
combination of the substances which form his mass, in either 
case we assert that he is fed from within. But, on the 
other hand, if we suppose that he is fed by comets, or by 
meteors impinging against his atmosphere, and having their 
motion converted into heat (just as they have when they 
impinge against the atmosphere of the earth), or by an ex- 
ternal ether, or in any way by planets, then we assert that 
he is fed from without. In presuming to add another to the 
list of these speculations, let us begin by laying down certain 
rules to guide us in our discussion. 

Now, first of all, our hypothesis must not be inconsistent, 
or only barely consistent with appearances on the sun’s disc ;. 
and, in the second place, it must be susceptible of application 
to other systems, and capable, by a legitimate extension, of 
explaining the very strange and even startling phenomena 
which reach us from those distant regions. The sun, in fine, 
must not be regarded as an individual apart by himself, but 
rather as that member of a large family with whom we are best 


_ acquainted, and who, if questioned aright, may perhaps inform 


us of the habits of his race. What, then, are the phenomena 
which he presents? It is well known that his surface, although 
generally appearing uniformly luminous to the naked eye, is not 
so in reality. Setting aside spots for the moment, the centre 
of his disc is decidedly brighter than the circumference ; leading 
us to infer that the sun, like our own earth, is surrounded by 
an atmosphere which absorbs much of the light which passes 
through it in an oblique direction. It is likewise worthy of 
remark, that this atmosphere must have a lower temperature 
than the region which gives rise to the luminosity, since other- | 
wise it would not exercise an absorptive influence upon the light 
emitted, but would add as much as it took away, or even more, 
if its temperature were higher. The dark lines in the solar 
spectrum are likewise a proof of the presence of an absorbing 
atmosphere of low temperature. 

But the spots which appear from time to time on the sun’s 
surface are at once the most interesting and instructive of all 
solar phenomena. ‘Their existence has been known for a long 


450 On the Origin of the Light of the Sun and Stars. 


time, but it is only lately that they have become the subject of 
scientific study. The following sketch from solar photographs 
se ite at the Kew Observatory will give an idea of these curious 
objects :— 


———— a 


Left Limb of the Sun, Left Lim> of the Sun, Left Limb of the Sun, 
1363, July 5th,12h.24m, p.m. 1863, July 6th, 11h. 40m. a.m. 1863, July 10th, 12h. 17m. p.m. 


In the first of these pictures we perceive a group consistin § 
of two spots, which has just been brought into the field of view 
by the rotation ofour luminary. It will be noticed that, beyond 
the spot at the extreme edge, there is a slight luminous thread, 
otherwise this spot would have produced an apparent indentation 
in the sun’s limb. In the next picture the group has advanced 
a little further into the disc; and we now see a large quantity 
of bright flocculent matter floating about chiefly between the 
two spots. We likewise perceive from this, as well as from the 
previous picture, that the circumference of the disc is less lumi- 
nous than its more central portions. The second picture 
affords us also an opportunity of observing minutely the two 
spots which form the group. We see that each consists of a 
black nucleus, accompanied by a penumbra, which, in the left- 
hand spot, is almost, if not quite, to the left of the nucleus. In 
the third picture, that group has advanced nearly to the centre 
of the disc ; and here we find, in both spots, that the nucleus is 
very nearly central with respect to the penumbra, and that 
there is a total absence of bright flocculent matter, or facula, 
as this is sometimes termed. 

By the nearly unanimous opinion of observers, spots have 
been regarded as breaks in the photosphere of the sun, through 
which his comparatively dark body becomes visible. ‘The first 
scientific observer was Dr. Alexander Wilson, of Glasgow, who 
upheld this hypothesis by endeavouring to show that when a 
spot is near the sun’s limb, the nucleus is generally nearer the 


On the Origin of the Inght of the Sun and Stars. 451 


centre than the penumbra. From this he argued that a spot 
represents a cavity of considerable depth in the sun’s atmos- 
phere; the dark body of our luminary forming the nucleus or 
bottom, while the penumbra represents the atmospheric walls 
or sides of the cavern ; a consequence of which will be, that 
when a spot is placed obliquely towards us, the wall nearest 
us will be hidden from our view, and we shall only see that 
which is farthest away. It will be noticed that one of the 
spots we have sketched confirms the truth of this explanation, 
the penumbra being to the left of the nucleus when the spot 
was near the sun’s left limb. 

Let us now consider the light-clouds, or facule. Messrs. 
Dawes, Howlett, and others, have observed that a spot, when 
near the edge of the sun, does not cause an apparent in- 
dentation in the limb, as might be expected, but that there 
is always a thin line of light beyond. This is also seen in 
our sketch, and the original negative at Kew from which 
it is taken, is exceedingly instructive and well worthy of 
minute inspection. It represents the line of light at its 
central portion as more luminous than the general body of 
the sun, so that the eye is impressed with the idea of an ex- 
cessively curved or bulging out line. This may be due to the 
elevation of the luminous ridge above the body of the solar 
atmosphere, and is in accordance with the well known fact that 
when facule are observed near the limb of the sun they appear 
much brighter than the surrounding photosphere, as if by being 
high up they escaped a great portion of the atmospheric medium 
which absorbs very much of the light proceeding from the 


_ border. 


On the other hand, facule have little or no excess of bright- 
ness when near the centre of the disc, because there the hight 
travels only through a small extent of atmosphere and there is 
not much gained by escaping it. To all this we may add, that 
Mr. Warren De la Rue has succeeded in producing a stereo- 
scopic image of a spot in which the facule appear raised above 
the surface. Nowif these facule are really elevated, this seems 
at once to inform us that the sun’s light breaks out in his 
atmosphere and does not come from his solid body, since we 
cannot easily suppose large masses of heavy matter remaining 
upheld at a great height for a long period of time. We there- 
fore conclude that the greater proportion of the light which 
reaches us is not derived from the solid body of the sun, but 
from some matter which either floats in the solar atmosphere 
or forms part of this atmosphere itself, and also that as far as 
our observation of spots extends, there is ground for supposing 
the sun’s surface to be deficient in luminosity; and, for a 
body of indefinite thickness, this is equivalent to a reduc- 

VOL. V.—-NO,. VI. H H 


452 On the Origin of the Light of the Sun and Stars. 


tion of temperature. It is of course possible to imagine that 
a peculiar cooling process takes place, so that the body of the 
sun, originally very bright, is greatly reduced in temperature 
when we behold it, but such an hypothesis bears the appear- 
ance of patchwork, and even ifit account for solar phenomena, it 
will not admit of extension to other systems. From all this, we 
are induced to suppose that the sun’s light is due to action from 
without ; and if it can be proved, as we think it can, that a disc 
full of spots is deficient in luminosity, it would seem to follow 
that such a state of the sun’s surface implies a deficiency in the 
intensity of this mysterious action ; while, on the other hand, a 
disc free from spots denotes an increase of the same. 

If we now direct our adventurous flight into still more 
distant regions, we shall find evidence of very extraordinary 
forces at work in stellar spaces. We allude to variable, tem- 
porary, and binary stars. Of the first and second of these classes 
we shall here name one or two of the most prominent examples. 

1. Omicron Ceti has its greatest brightness for a fortnight, 
decreases for three months, is invisible five months, in- 
creases again for three months, arriving once more at its 
greatest brightness. 

2. Algol in Perseus appears for about sixty-two hours as 
a star of the second magnitude; it then suddenly becomes 
fainter, and in three hours and a half arrives at its minimum; 
it then begins to revive, and in three hours and a half more is 
again at its maximum brightness. 

3. Gamma Cygni is visible for about six months, and inyi- 
sible for about the same time or a little longer. 

The appearance of a temporary star about 125 years B.c., 
which shone forth for some timewith extraordinary brilliancy and 
then died away, turned the attention of Hipparchus to astro- 
nomy, and induced him to form a catalogue of stars. In the 
year 389 a.p., a star shone forth with extreme brilliancy near 
Alpha Aquile, remained for three weeks as bright as Venus, 
and then disappeared, A star of this kind was first seen by 


T'ycho Brahé in November, 1572. It was at its greatest bril-. 


liancy when discovered, diminished gradually in brightness for 
sixteen months, and disappeared in March, 1574. ‘There was 
no change in its apparent place. Kepler also saw a new star 
on the 8th of October, 1604, It had suddenly become visible, 
was of great lustre, and disappeared after twelve months. 

This is perhaps the fittest place to notice the behaviour of 
binary stars. A binary star denotes a system generally of 
two membérg which revolye about one another in ellipses 
frequently of great eccentricity. A change of magnitude in the 
components of some of these systems has been observed, and, 
as far as can be gleaned from an interesting paper by Professor 


a ee pei a 


On the Origin of the Inght of the Sun and Stars. 4538 


Piazzi Smyth, when this is the case both components change 
together and in the same direction. We may soon hope to 
learn something more definite regarding these bodies, which 
are favourite subjects of study, but in the meantime our know- 
ledge is very limited. 

From all this it is evident that in the case of many stars we 
cannot suppose the light to be due to an incandescent solid 
or liquid body, otherwise how can we account for their long- 

continued disappearance? Goodricke indeed has supposed that 
dark bodies may periodically obscure them, but the objection 
to this hypothesis is, that such a dark body would be of a size 
utterly disproportioned to that of any ordinary star. Nothing 
appears so capable of explaining all these phenomena as the 
supposition that the luminosity of stars is derived from without, 
and that when the source of excitement fails or varies we have 
a temporary or variable star. Driven, therefore, to look with- 
out for the source of solar and stellar light, let us examine the 
various hypotheses which have been proposed. 

It has been argued that the etherial medium which per- 
vades space may somehow produce luminosity at the sur- 
face of large bodies, towards which it may be supposed to 
stream, and that some of its streams being stopped by 
planets or other bodies, this may occasion a variation in 
the light of the primary; yet how, on this principle, are 
we to account for the total stoppage of light for a length- 
ened period of time? Again, it has been supposed that our 
sun is fed by meteors, which, falling into his atmosphere, have 
their motion at once converted into light and heat. Accord- 

_ ingly, when a star is in a portion of space rich in meteors, its 
brightness will be intense; but when in a space devoid of 
meteors, it will disappear. This will readily account for the 
behaviour of temporary stars, but it cannot easily be tortured 
into affording us an explanation of variable ones. In advanc- 
ing our own views, let us remark that in a case like the pre- 
sent we should endeavour to connect together such phenomena 
as are periodical. Can these appearances, then, be in any way 
due to planets? And again, since observation only can decide 
this question, have the spots on our own sun any relation 
to planetary configurations? In the valuable work on sun 
spots, recently published by Mr. Carrington, a comparison 1s 
instituted between the frequency of sun spots and the radius 
vector of Jupiter, and on the whole there are good grounds for 
supposing that the least distance of Jupiter from the sun_cor- 
responds in epoch to the minimum of spot-frequehcy, and his 
greatest distance to its maximum. It may be added that in 
1837 the number of spots was peculiarly great, and that both 
Jupiter and Saturn were then nearly at their greatest distances 


454 On the Origin of the Light of the Sun and Stars. 


from the sun. Furthermore, an examination of. the sun- 
pictures taken by the Kew heliograph, seems to indicate the 
following law. Any portion of the sun’s disc which, owing to 
his rotation, recedes from the neighbourhood of Venus, acquires 
a tendency to break out into spots, and asit approaches Venus it 
acquires a tendency to be free from spots. On the whole, there- 
fore, we are perhaps entitled to conclude that, in our own system, 
the approach of a planet to the sun is favourable to luminosity, 
and especially in that portion of the sun which is next the planet. 
A confirmation of this law is found in the readiness with which 
it may be adapted to other systems. Let us take variable stars. 
The hypothesis which without being physically probable gives 
yet the best formal explanation of the phenomena there pre- 
sented, is that which assumes rotation on an axis, while it is 
supposed that the body of a star is from some cause not equally 
luminous in every part of its surface. Now if, instead of this, 
we suppose such a star to have a large planet revolving round 
it at a small distance, then, according to our hypothesis, that 
portion of the star which is near the planet will be more lumi- 
nous than that which is more remote, and this state of things 
will revolve round as the planet itself revolves, presenting to a 
distant spectator an appearance of variation with a period equal 
to that of the planet. Let us now suppose the planet to havea 
very elliptical orbit, then for a long period of time it will be at 
a distance from its primary, while for a comparatively short 
period it will be very near. We should, therefore, expect a 
long period of darkness, and a comparatively short one of 
intense light—precisely what we have in temporary stars. 
Again, we have seen that m many binary systems there 
is a change of magnitude, and that perhaps both members 
change at the same time and in the same direction—a result in 
favour of our hypothesis; but it is to be regretted that we have 
not yet sufficient data for determining if the brightness is 
greatest when.both members are nearest together. Perhaps it 
may now be asked, If the sun have not a large store of heat in 
himself, but is fed from moment to moment, have we any 
guarantee for the continuance of his light, or for its steadiness, 
which is almost of equal importance to our well-being? We 
reply, that our sun is not the member of a binary system of 
small period and large ellipticity, which might give him a 
variable brightness, nor is he surrounded by planets that now 
press near to him and anon recede to a great distance, which 
might produce the same result. No doubt we encounter occa- 
sionally an erratic comet’ and are much puzzled by its great 
luminosity and, in other respects, strange behaviour, as it 
approaches our sun, but the influence of a body of such small 
mass upon our luminary is probably inappreciable. 


Interary Notices. 455 


We have thus endeavoured to show that the formal law 
which appears best to represent celestial phenomena, asserts 
that the approach of two heavenly bodies produces light. Now 
what physical cause does this imply? It has been remarked 
by the writer, in conjunction with Professor Tait, that we are 
not without an analogous law in another branch of science, for 
we know that the approach of two atoms towards one another 
also produces light. Again, is it not conceivable that the law 
indicated in this paper may be merely that arrangement by 
means of which the visible motion of bodies is converted into 
light and heat, which we know, from Professor Thomson, are 
the ultimate forms to which all motion tends. This problem is 
one of great interest, but it can only be solved by laborious 
observation. 


LITERARY NOTICKHS. 


Ourtiines or Astronomy. By Sir Jonn F. W. Herscuet, Bart, 
K.H., etc., etc. Seventh Edition (Longmans).—There are very few 
scientific works that can compare with Sir John Herschel’s well 
known “ Outlines of Astronomy,” as a masterly exhibition, not only 
of the fundamental facts, but of the methods of reasoning in the 
higher branches of physical inquiry. Many writers have succeeded 
in giving intelligible explanations of the principal astronomical 
laws, and of the results to which they give rise; but we could name 
no book equal to the “ Outlines,” in its capacity of making physical 
_ science an aid to a vigorous and yet pleasurable training of the 
mind. The leading facts and principles of Astronomy remaining 
unchanged, that which was well said concerning them when the 
first edition of Sir John Herschel’s work left the press, is equally 
applicable now that the seventh edition appears in answer to public 
demand; but still there are some departments, in which recent 
researches have unfolded new truths, that require more notice 
than they have received in the volume before us, which is very 
little more than a reprint of the last edition. If Sir John Herschel’s 
age and engagements prevented his paying due attention to the 
views concerning the constitution of the sun, which have been 
unfolded by the application of the spectroscope, and by considera- 
tions resulting from the mechanical theory of heat, and to other 
recent speculations and observations, it would have been wise to 
have transferred the task of bringing out a new edition of his 
famous work to his son Alexander, who has displayed scientific 
capacities of no common order, and bids fair to be known to 
posterity as the third of his illustrious name. But although we 
thus express a wish that we had been favoured with a little more, 
that which Sir John again offers to us is essential, and nowhere 
else presented equally well. 


456 Interary Notices. 


InsTANCES OF THE PowER oF GOD AS MANIFESTED IN HIS ANTMAL 
Creation: A Lecture delivered before the Young Men’s Christian 
Association, Nov. 17, 1863. By Prorsssor Ricnarp Owen, D.C.L., 
F.R.S. (Longmans. )—This is the lecture that gave rise to so much 
discussion and anger in the minds of certain well-meaning gentle- 
men whose defective training peculiarly needed to be supplemented 
by the kind of instruction which Professor Owen provided for them. 
No one can doubt the religious tendency of Professor Owen’s mind: 
he has always contemplated science in the light of natural theology, 
and his main line of argument would be followed by nine-tenths of 
that now numerous section of the clergy who have thought their 
performance of duty incomplete without a reverent study of God’s 
works. é 


Tue Rose Boox: A Practical Treatise on the Culture of -the 
Rose; comprising the Formation of the Rosarium, the Characters of 
Species and Varieties, Modes of Propagating, Planting, Pruning, 
Training, and Preparing for Hxhibition, and the Management of 
Roses in all Seasons. By Suirtny Hisperp, F.R.H.S., etc., ete. 
(Groombridge and Sons.)—Every family tries to grow roses after a 
fashion, from those who confine their labours to a humble pot in 
the chamber or window sill, to those who can afford to lay out 
rosariums, or line long garden-walks with the all-favourite flower. 
Rose culture is indeed one of the most important branches of 
gardening as a fine art, and thousands are annually baflled and 
defeated for want of the practical instruction which Mr. Hibberd 
here gives. The wealthy cultivator with acres of lawns and beds, 
will derive from his pages ample information, much of which is 
usually concealed as a secret of the craft, while more modest growers 
will be saved from many a mistake. To the inhabitants of towns 
and suburban districts, he affords great comfort by indicating what 
sort of roses they must choose, and how they must treat them to 
ensure success. Mr. Hibberd is well known as a most indefatigable 
experimenter, and what he recommends to others he has first tried 
and proved for himself. 


Tue Temrte Anecporns. By Ranrpa anp Cnanpos TEMPLE. 
Invention and Discovery. Tlustrated; published monthly. No. 1. 
(Groombridge and Sons.)—Everybody likes good anecdotes, and 
everybody likes good illustrations; and here they are, at a price 
wonderfully low, considering the admirable quality of the type, 
paper, and engravings. No. | of the ‘ Temple jae. a ” contains 
twenty-eight anecdotes of great inventors and great inventions, 
besides a brief introductory essay on the “True Mother of Inven- 
tion.” Arkwright, Cuvier, Stephenson, Crompton, Brunel, Buck- 
land, Watt, and Wollaston, are among the heroes of the incidents 
narrated, and the editors have shown industry and discretion in 
hunting up striking and little known facts. Arkwright’s wife 
destroying his models, and an incident in the childhood of James 
Watt, furnish subjects for two full-page elaborately-executed 
engravings, which belong to a style of art seldom seen in cheap 
publications. They are both good, but the second is especially 


a 


i 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 457 


admirable both in design and execution. The earnest boy tracing 
his mathematical diagrams on the stone hearth, unconscious that 
his father and two visitors are watching him; the calm, thoughtful 
satisfaction of the parent, who is hopefully speculating on his child’s 
future career, and the varied expression of the two ladies, are pre- 
sented to us by the artist with a force and fidelity seldom seen in 
more pretentious works. 


Tue AsseyitLeE Jaw: An Episode in a Great Controversy. By 
J. L. Rows, F.G.S. (Longmans.)—This is a paper read before the 
Hull Literary and Philosophical Society. The author is a bit of a 
humourist, and his chief object seems to be to promote a sort of 
compromise between those who assign a brief date to man’s 
existence, and those who claim for him a long antiquity. 


RAMBLES IN Search oF Frowsruess Puants. By Margaret 
Puuzs. (Cottage Gardener Office, Houlston and Wright.)—This 
handsome and elegantly illustrated volume is a good specimen of 
a class of works to which the popularization of science is mainly 
due. It affords just the sort of help that beginners want, and will 
be very useful in country trips. The subjects range from ferns to 
mosses, algve, lichens, and fungi. Miss Plues writes in an interest- 
ing, agreeable style; and her directions for the finding of objects 
and the identification of species are judiciously conveyed. Those 
who want instructions for collecting aclass of objects of great micro- 
scopic interest, will find an additional reason for thanking an 
accomplished lady for her instructive work. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


BY W. B. TEGETMEIER. ; 


ROYAL INSTITUTION.—Mzay 138. 


On tHe Mecnanicat Errects or Gun Corron.—In the May 
number of the INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER, page 302, will be found an 
account of Professor Abel’s iecture at the Royal Institution, “ On 
the Chemical Properties and Preparation of Gun Cotton.” Mr. 
Scott Russell has supplemented this lecture by a seconds On its 
Mechanical Action and General Practical Utility.” Gun cotton, as 
prepared by the Austrian process, is uniform in quality and perma- 
nent in action; it possesses the greatest cleanliness in use, not foul- 
ing the gun as gunpowder does, and hence possesses great advan- 
tages for use with breech-loading arms. 

Exploded in the open air it acts differently from gunpowder; if 
the latter is. exploded in one pan of a pair of scales, the arm of 
the balance is violently depressed. An equal weight of gun cotton, 


A58 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


on the contrary, can be ignited without moving the pan. In the 
same manner a bag of gunpowder will blow open the gate of a town 
which would not be injured by an equal weight of loose or unpacked 
gun cotton. This appears to arise from the circumstance that gun- 
powder after explosion leaves about 60 per cent. of solid matter, 
which acts as a charge and produces the effect of a shot. On the 
other hand, the products of the explosion of gun cotton are nearly 
purely gaseous. According to Karolyi these products are— 


Carbonic Acid . : : Saale 20°82 
Carbonic Oxide . : : : ; 28°95 
Nitrogen. j ; : , F 12°67 
Hydrogen . ; , 5 : ; 3°16 
Marsh Gas . : ; : ; ; 7°24: 
Water ' : x ; ; : 25°34 ~ 
Carbon : 3 ; : } 1°82 


The character of these products appears to account for the cir- 
cumstance that with gun cotton there is only two-thirds the amount 
of recoil that is produced by gunpowder inaclean gun; for as sixteen 
pounds of powder produce by the explosion ten pounds of solid 
matter, which has to be sent out of the gun at a high velocity, the 
recoil must be necessarily greater than with gun cotton of equal 
explosive power, the products of whose combustion is entirely 
gaseous. 

Gun cotton, when employed in artillery service, is found not to 
heat the gun in the same manner as gunpowder does; this is pro- 
bably due to the fact that a large quantity of steam is formed during 
its explosion. This renders so large an amount of heat latent that 
the gun is not sensibly warmed. . 

Unlike gunpowder, gun cotton can be wetted and dried repeatedly 
without injury. This introduces a great element of safety in the 
manufacture, which is carried on for the most part whilst the gun 
cotton is damp and consequently inexplosive. 

Enclosed in a case or gun the effect of gun cotton is three times 
greater than that of powder, one pound doing the work of three of 
powder. ‘Twenty-five pounds of gun cotton placed in a box at the 
foot of a palisade formed of trees twenty inches in diameter, was 
found to shatter three of the trees to minute splinters, and to open 
a wide passage available for military purposes. Four hundred and 
fifty pounds of gun cotton exploded in the water, twenty feet distant 
from a vessel of 400 tons, utterly destroyed the ship, some of the 
fragments being blown upwards of 400 feet high in the air. 

Employed for mining purposes it is found that one-twelfth the 
weight of the coarse mining powder previously used is equally 
efficient. 

In confined places, such as mines and casemates, the absence of 
sulphurous smoke enables the workmen or soldiers to continue firing 
any length of time without inconvenience, often a point of great 
practical importance, 

The relative power and properties of gunpowder and gun cotton 
may be inferred from the following table— 


Pete Virgie M79 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 459 


Guy Corton. 
100 Ibs. occupy 4 cubic feet. 
25 Ibs. occupy 1 cubic foot. 


GUNPOWDER. 
100 Ibs. occupy 1°8 cubic feet 
55°5 lbs. occupy 1 cubic foot. 


Propucts oF EXpPLosion. 


100 Ibs. yields on explosion, 
25 lbs. of steam, 
75 lbs. of permanent gases. 


10 0 Ibs. yield on explosion, 
68 lbs. of solids, 
32 Ibs. of gases, 


At a lecture delivered at the United Service Institution, Profes- 
sor Abel combated some of the conclusions arrived at by Mr. Scott 
Russell, particularly that which attributes the great recoil produced 
by gunpowder to the projection of the solid residue remaining after 
the explosion. Professor Abel contended that some of the materials 
regarded as solid by Mr. Russell, excited a state of vapour at a red 
heat, particularly the sulphide of potassium, which forms a consider- 
able proportion of the residue. It was also shown that the amount 
of recoil depends greatly on the mechanical aggregation of the ex- 
plosive body. Loose gun-cotton exploded on one pan of a pair of 
scales producing no depression, whereas, if plaited into a car- 
tridge, its effect is well marked. 

In the same manner, the recoil produced on a balance by the 
explosion of gunpowder is much lessened by previously reducing it 
to a state of fine powder. From these and other considerations, 
Mr. Abel regarded the theory advanced by Mr. Russell to account 
for the greater recoil of gunpowder as unsatisfactory. 


May 19. 


TEMPERATURE AND Cummatr or THE Moon.—Mr. Nasmyth, who 
has devoted many years to the diligent observation of Lunar Phe- 
nomena, communicated the results of his observations to the mem- 
- bers of the Royal Institution, at the Friday evening meeting of this 
date. 

The bulk or solid contents of the moon, as compared with that 
of the earth, is as 1 to 49. The surface of the moon, as compared 
with that of the earth, is as 1to16. On the supposition that the 
moon and the earth were formed at the same period, by the con- 
densation of nebulous matter, the rapidity of cooling of the moon 
would be four times as great as that of the earth, in consequence of 
its greater surface as compared with its solid contents, hence the 
moon would have become solid long before the earth, and would offer 
for our contemplation an object of immense antiquity, the surface of 
which, from the absence of air and water, would, according to Mr. 
Nasmyth’s hypothesis, have undergone no disintegration or change 
for millions of ages. 

The present condition of the moon’s surface, consisting of nume- 
‘rous craters of extinct volcanoes, some, twenty-eight miles in dia- 
meter, is in course of description by Mr. Webb in the Inreniuctuan 

OpsERVER. Some of these volcanic mountains are 28,000 feet high. 
These are brightly illuminated on one side by the sun; and from 
the absence of diffused daylight, owing to the want of an atmosphere, 


460 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


the further side is in shadow of intense blackness; and from the 
same cause the sky, as seen from the moon, would appear penaey 
dark, the stars being always visible. 

The day in the moon is a fortnight in duration, and dust 
this period the temperature on the illuminated side would pro- 
bably rise to 220° Fahrenheit, or hotter than boiling water. The 
night would be of equal length, and during this time the heat, 
from the absence of aqueous vapour and atmosphere, would be 
radiated freely into space, and the temperature would fall to that of 
space, viz., to 300° below zero Fahr. The absence of air and water 
in the moon would render impossible the existence of animal and 
vegetable life corresponding to that which prevails on our globe. 

The use of the moon, as a satellite of the earth, is usually 
regarded as being that of a luminary, but from its variable action 
this use must be regarded as secondary. Its value as induting 
the tides and currents of the ocean is of greater importance, both as 
conducing to the sanitary condition of the sea, and as aiding transit 
in rivers, by the ebb and flow of the tide. At the conclusion of the 
lecture, Mr. Nasmyth illustrated the formation of the radiating 
cracks on the moon’s surface, by congealing water in a. thin 
glass globe hermetically sealed—when it cracked in lines radiating 
from a single point—the cracks in the moon being attributed to the 
contraction of its external hardened crust during the period of its 
rapid congelation. 


June 10. 


New Maenetic Exrrriments.—Professor Tyndall concluded the 
series of Friday evening discourses, at the Royal Institution, by a 
Lecture “ On a New Magnetic Experiment.” After demonstrating 
the familiar properties of magnetized bodies, he entered into a con- 
sideration of the changes of arrangement which the molecules of a 
piece of soft iron must undergo when it is converted into a tempo- 
rary induced magnet, by the passage of a current of electricity 
through the coils of copper wire surrounding it. These molecular 
changes are proved by the fact that, when a bar of soft iron is mag- 
netized and demagnetized, in succession, by rapidly breaking and 
remaking the current in the surrounding coil of wire, it is thrown 
into a state of vibration which produces a sound in the air. This 
alteration of the molecular arrangement was supposed by Ampére to 
be attended with a shortening of the bar of soft iron. Mr. Joule, 
however, has proved that the bar is actually lengthened when it is 
converted into an induced magnet. The experiment demonstrating 

this fact was shown in public for the first time. 

A bar of soft iron, two feet in length, was firmly secured in an 


erect position. On its upper extremity was a vertical rod of brass, the — 


lower end of which rested on the top of the iron bar; the upper, 
tipped with a steel point, pressed against a small plate of. agate, 
near the fulerum of a horizontal lever. At the distant end of the 
lever was a very fine wire, which was kept coiled around an axis by 
the tension of a fine hair spring. This axis turned a small mirror. 
The action of this exceedingly delicate instrument is easily ex- 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 461 


plained. When a current of electricity is sent in a coil around the 
iron bar, a, only the upper end of which is shown in the diagram, it is 
lengthened to a very minute degree, consequently it presses up- 
wards the brass rod, 0, and this acting on the lever raises the free 
end, uncoiling the wire round the axis, and bringing the mirror, c, to 
a position more nearly approaching the perpendicular. This action 
is so slight that to render it visible to the audience, a horizontal 
ray of light, shown in the diagram by a dotted line, was reflected 
from the mirror on to a screen at some distance, when the slightest 
movement of the mirror was rendered evident by the alteration in 
the position of the ray, d. On magnetizing the iron, the reflected 
ray was depressed, and on breaking the current the ray returned 
to its original position. 

_ So exceedingly delicate was the entire apparatus, that the ejec- 
tion of a few drops of warm water from a pipette upon the iron bar, 


produced an immediate depression of the reflected ray. The proba- 
ble explanation of the lengthening of the iron bar under the influence 
of the electric coil is, that the particles have a tendency to arrange 
themselves along the lines of magnetic force, in the direction of the 
bar. This explanation is supported by a beautiful experiment of 
Mr. Grove’s, which was also shown for the first time at Professor 
Tyndall’s lecture. A cylinder, with glass ends, was filled with a 
mixture of magnetic oxide of iron and water. This formed a muddy 
liquid, through which a ray of light could hardly pass. On 
placing this in the centre of an electric coil, it was found that on 
making the current the particles, being free to move, arranged 
themselves in the direction of the axis of the cylinder, and the ray 
of light passed through with less obstruction. On breaking the 
current in the coil, the liquid again became muddy and opaque. 


462 Proceedings of Learned Societies, 


ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—June 6.: : 


ArtigictaL Mopirication or Wasps’ Nests, AND INTELLIGENCE IN 
THE Honry-Brz.—Mr. Smith, of the British Museum, exhibited a 
very curious series of boxes. These were from eight to ten inches 
in height and width, and had either on one or two sides glass, as in 
cases intended for stuffed animals. Inside of these there were 
wasps’ nests, which were most singular in their arrangement. Some 
looked like the pillars of a cathedral, others reminded the spectator 
of limestone caverns, and a third called up decided reminiscences 
of Stonehenge. These remarkable structures had been formed in 
each case by one set of wasps. They had been sent for the in- 
spection of the society by Mr. Stone. He found that he could 
ensure the construction of wasps’ nests wherever he chose to make 
chambers in the earth suitable for the queen wasp to build in. 
When a nest has been made, he takes it from the earth, puts it 
in one of the boxes prepared for its reception, and allows the wasps 
to work in it as long as he wishes, which is generally only a few 
days. The precise manner in which he determines the plan of their 
building was not mentioned. It appeared, however, that wires 
formed the foundation of the architecture, and that the wasps sur- 
rounded these with the masticated wood of which they construct 
their nests. The forms obtained were ingenious and interesting. 

Mr. Tegetmeier described an example of intelligence in the 
honey-bee which has hitherto escaped observation. It is well 
known that a swarm of bees often take possession of an old tenant- 
less hive filled with comb, having previously visited the hive and 
cleaned away the refuse materials and damaged portions. On 
placing a frame-hive, in which old combs had been artificially 
attached, near a stock that was expected to throw off a swarm, it 
was seen that the bees visited it, and that numerous scales of 
newly-secreted wax were found on the floor-board. ‘This led to an 
attentive examination of the combs, and it was discovered that 
new white wax had been secreted in the empty hive, and that this 
had been employed in repairing the combs, particularly in cement- 
ing them more securely to the top of the hive, their attachment 
being strengthened at that point where the greatest weight would 
have to be sustained when the combs should be filled with young 
brood, honey, and pollen. It appears an extraordinary instance of 
foresight and intelligence, as distinct from unreasoning instinct, 
that the bees, when proposing to send out a swarm to tenant a new 
residence, should not only clean the hive, but send a relay of 
worker-bees to cluster and secrete wax in order to strengthen the 
combs at that part where the greatest weight will have to be 
supported. 


GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—June 8. 


On THE GEOLOGICAL Srructure or tun Matvern Hitzs anp ApJaA- 
cent Districr. By Dr. Harvny B, Hort.—The object of this com- 


Proceedings of Learned Societies. 463 


munication was to discuss the structure and origin of the crystalline 
rocks of the Malvern Hills, to give the results of an examination 
of the superposed Paleozoic strata, and to state the chronological 
relationship of the several events in their geological history. 

It was concluded that the rocks hitherto treated of as syenite, 
and supposed to form the axis of the range of hill, are in reality 
of metamorphic origin, consisting of gneiss (both micaceous and 
hornblendic), mica-schist, hornblende-schist, etc., all invaded by 
veins of granite and trap-rocks. It was then shown that the Holly- 
bush Sandstone is the equivalent of the Middle Lingula-flags, and 
that the overlying black shales correspond with the Upper Lingula- 
beds, the whole being overlaid, as in Wales, by Dictyonema-shales. 
These rocks, on the east of the Herefordshire Beacon, are altered 
by trap-dykes, which were shown to be of later date than those 
traversing the crystalline rocks before alluded to. Allusion was 
next made to the Upper Llandovery strata, which overlie uncon- 
formably the Primordial rocks just noticed ; after which the several 
faults in the district were described in detail. 

Dr. Holl concluded with some remarks on the general relations 
of the rocks of the Malvern Hills with those of the surrounding 
districts, describing the successive physical changes supposed to 
have been consequent upon their deposition and their subsequent 
elevations and depressions. 

Specimens of the new mineral termed Langite, a basic sulphate 
of copper, were exhibited by Professor Maskelyne. 


ROYAL SOCIETY.—Jume 9. 


Homan ReEMarns In THE CaverN or Bruniquen.—Professor Owen 
. described his investigations in the cavern at Bruniquel, in which 
human remains occur, with those of extinct and other animals, both 
being associated with bone and flint implements. Professor Owen 
argued that these human and extinct animal remains were contem- 
poraneous, as shown by their relative position in this cavern, and by 
the similarity in their chemical composition. 

The remains found in this cavern were those of numerous indi- 
viduals, the skulls corresponding more closely to the Celtic type 
than to any other known form. As, in most primitive races, the 
digestibility of the food appeared to be but little aided by the pro- 
cess of cooking, as the molars were worn down to the stumps far 
beyond the enamel, exposing the osteo dentine, which, however, 
did not show any signs of decay. 


Mroroscorte Sorte ar Aporuncaries’ Haru.—The Master and 
Wardens of the Apothecaries’ Company, gave a very successful and 
numerously attended scientific entertamment on the 31st of May. 
All the principal makers of microscopes were well represented on 


464 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 


the occasion, and the collection of objects was very good. The 
principal novelties were an opthalmoscope, by which the vessels in 
the interior of a rabbit’s eye were distinctly seen ; a new aneroid, by 
Mr. Browning; and a beautiful diffraction apparatus, by Messrs. 
Horne and Thornthwaite. The two last deserve a much longer 
notice than we can give them in this place. The aneroid, which 
we hope to describe fully another time, is a stationary instrument 
of extreme delicacy, enabling small oscillations to be read off on a 
large scale, and admirably adapted for noting the exact progress of 
atmospheric waves during a storm. 


Mr. Dr ta Run’s Astronomrcat Sorriz.—On Saturday, June 4, 
Mr. Warren De la Rue, the President of the Royal Astronomical 
Society, held a reception at Willis’s Rooms, which was attended by 
avery numerous and distinguished company. The arrangements 
were made with great liberality and good taste, and a variety of 
important and interesting objects were brought together. Mr. 
Nasmyth exhibited some large and wonderful drawings of lunar 
craters; Harl Rosse ‘sent sketches of nebule, and the walls were 
adorned with some singularly beautiful landscapes of Turner. 
Steinheil sent a Gauss object-glass upon the pattern mentioned in 
a former number of this journal, and Merz sent a 10-inch object 
glass; Cooke and Sons showed some fine telescopes, and a new 
arrangement for obtaining a dark field illumination; Messrs. 
Troughton and Sons exhibited instruments for the Indian Survey, 
among which was an enormous theodolite in aluminium bronze. 
Mr. Browning’s new aneroid attracted great attention, and he also 
exhibited some splendid prisms, one on a large scale, being con- 
structed of quartz, and made for Mr. Gassiott, who was fortunate 
in securing a crystal of rare dimensions and unusual freedom from 
optical defects. Messrs. Horne and Thornthwaite, in addition to 
their diffraction apparatus, for which Mr. Bridges designed the 
figures, exhibited a new form of polariscope capable of showing a 
much wider range of effects than the usual patterns allow to be 
seen, and ina manner that commanded universal admiration. Mr. 
De la Rue exhibited a complete collection of his astronomical 
photographs. Messrs. Powell and Lealand, Ross, and Smith and 
Beck brought their microscopes, the latter showing the pupa of 
the flea and the Acarus Crossii. There were also specimens of the 
long focus telescopes that preceded the achromatics, and numerous 
instruments of the most modern designs. Mr, Ladd exhibited some 
fine effects with vacuum tubes. 


Sa ee 


Notes and Memoranda. A465 


NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 


THE CONSERVATION OF PortEN.—M. Belhomme details to the French Academy 
numerous experiments on the “persistence of the fecundating power of pollen.” 
He gathers anthers in dry weather, at the moment when dehiscence begins, seals 
them up in bottles, and places the bottles in a dark, dry place, in which the tem- 
perature will not exceed 6° or 8° C. The pollen grains that have been successfully 
preserved remain slightly moist, those which have dried so that they do not ad- 
here slightly to the skin, and those which fall like dust, are spoilt. He has 
proved that the pollen of the lily tribe can preserve its fertility for five or six 
years, that of the musacee he has preserved for six years, of the borage tribe one 
year, and of the potato tribe two years, of cactuses three years, and of the rose 
and bean tribes two years. 


Deviation or Comers’ Tarts.—M. Valz shows that the tails of Comets iv. 
and y., 1863, deviated from the planes of their orbits. He adverts to two other 
comets in which the same fact was ascertained.—Comptes Rendus, No. 19, 1864. 


Usz or Execrriciry In Brieut’s Diszase.—M. Namias communicates to 
the French Academy a case in which the obstacle to the separation of urea from 
the blood was removed by the application of galvanism to the loins of the patient 
for half an hour. Twelve of Daniell’s cells were employed, and the quantity of 
urine and urea much increased. More albumen was also secreted, but M. Namias 
states that this was of small consequence compared with the benefit resulting from 
a greater elimination of urea, 


AtvaN CLARK ON THE Sun AnD Stars.—Mr. Alvan Clark views the solar 
image ina dark chamber. The sunlight is admitted through a vertical aperture, 
received by a prism, and reflected horizontally on to a pleno-convex lens. The 
solar image thus obtained is viewed from a distance of 230 feet, and its diameter 
reduced 93,840 times, being then scarcely equal in illuminating power toa Lyra 
(Vega). Making allowance for loss of light through the apparatus employed, Mr. 
Clark considers that if the sun were removed 103,224 times his actual distance 
from us, he would not give us more light than the star in question, and this 
distance, he observes, is not half the presumed distance of the nearest fixed star. 
He also alleges reasons for supposing that our sun may be a small star in com- 
parison with some of the millions of other stars that inhabit space. 


STRUVE ON THE CoMPANION oF SrRIvs.—In the Monthly Notices will be 
found a paper by M. Struve detailing his observations on the satellite of Sirius, 
The average of good observations in 1863 gave 10’*14 as the distance, and 805 as 
the position; while the average of good observations in 1864 yielded 10’-92 dis- 
tance '74°:8 position. According to which the annual change of distance is 0'’-77, 
and of position °5°7.—This nearly coincides with Mr. Safford’s calculations, based 
on the supposition that there is no physical connection between the two stars. M. 
Struve does not, however, consider this view established, and suspends his judg- 
ment till next year. 


Haxits or Wasps.—Professor R. L. Edgworth has a paper in the Annals of 
Natural History on Irish wasps, in which he denies the statement of Reaumur, 
repeated by Kirby and Spence, that at the first cold of winter, wasps kill their 
young. Hesays possibly the grubs, in some rare cases, may have been killed by 
an early frost, and it may have been thought they were intentionally slain. He 
states that the wasps are hatched before cold weather usually begins. The love 
they display for their young, and the place of their birth, he characterizes as very 
remarkable, and he adds that they soon become familiarized with any animal or man. 
In one instance he tells us that a field-mouse and a nest of wasps shared acommon 
hole, without injury to the former. The presence of other wasps does not appear 
to disturb their equanimity, and in one case he planted four colonies together, 
and they all flourished. He also bisected two nests and put the halves of dis- 
similar nests together. The wasps surrounded both halves with a common 
shell, and made one nest of it. 


466 Notes and Memoranda. 


Action or ToBAcco ON THE PutsE.—M. Decaisne states, in Comptes Rendus, 
that in the course of three years he has met with twenty-one cases of intermittent 
pulse occurring among eighty-eight incorrigible smokers, and independent of an 
organic disease of the heart. He calls the affection thus induced by the abuse of 
tobacco, ‘‘ Narcotism of the heart.” 


Boxe or May 14,—At Nérac, on this date, a very luminous bolide was seen 
in the evening, and four or five minutes after its passage a powerful detonation 
was heard, accompanied by a rumbling like thunder. At St. Clar the light was 
so brilliant at Sh. 18m. as to give rise to the idea that the village was in flames, 
and the meteor looked nearly as big as the full moon. It left a train behind it, 
which gradually disappeared, and in the course of ten minutes a noise was heard 
like the discharge of a cannon. Letters from Astaffont, Sauzon, and Blois 
reached M, Le Verrier with analogous particulars. The Curé of la Magdeleine 
describes the meteor as opening like a bouquet of fireworks. Superstitious folks 
thought the world was coming to an end. M. Daubrée observes that the interval 
between the appearance of the meteor and the noise was two minutes at St. Clar 
(Ger), three to four at Agen, and at Astaffont (Lot et Garonne) four minutes. 
From these data he concludes that the explosion took place at a great elevation 
and in a highly rarified atmosphere. M. Brongniart made observations at Fisors 
(Eure), from which he estimated the meteor’s height when the explosion occurred 
at about 30,000 metres. He states that at the close of the phenomena there 
was a fall of stones, several of which were picked up. M. Flammarion, writing 
in Cosmos, states that this meteorite contained carbide of iron, and belonged to 
a rare type. Numerous letters on this subject will be found in Comptes Rendus, 
No. 1, 1864; and also in No. 21, in which M. Laussedat details his efforts to com- 
pute the size and trajectory of the meteor. He finds many of the reports irres 
concilable, but by combining an observation mace at Nérac with another at 
Tombebceuf, near Miramont, he considers the bolide must have been near the 
meridian of Nérac, and about 100 kilometres high. J 


Tue ANACHARIS IN Frowrr.—It is commonly, though not correctly, said 
that the Anacharis alsinastrum does not flower in this country. It will, therefore, 
interest our readers to learn that Mr. Mumbray, of Richmond, has recently ob- 
tained specimens in flower from the Hampstead ponds. The flower, which is 
borne at the end of a thread-like stalk, is an elegant object when viewed with an 
inch power. The ponds on the Lower Heath contain abundance of specimens. 
The Anacharis belongs to the Hydrocharis family, in which the flowers are uni- 
sexual, and it is the male flowers that have not been seen in England, 


Curr oF Frpring Cernatarcia.—M. Guyon communicates to the French 
Academy cases in which the acute head pains in fever have ceased on the applica- 
tion of pressure to the temporal arteries. A steel band, passing half round the 
head and furnished with little cushions, he finds a convenient mode of making 
the application. 


SIE 


INDEX. 


———__e—— 


ABBEVILLE jaw, the, 457. 
Acanthopterygii or perches, 253. 
Acephalous animals, 67. 

Achlya prolifera on dead salamander, 
148, 

Achlya spores, 148. 

Acineta, a supposed new, 340. 

Aerial Navigation Society, 146. 

Aerolites with low velocities, 123. 

Agaricus, genera resembling, 2. 

Agriculture, phosphates used in, 273. 

Agriculture, principles of, 379. 

Air of Manchester, carbonic acid in 
the, 141. 

Air, ozone produced by agitation of 
the, 305. 

Albumenized paper and glass, 234. 

Albumen process, toning bath for, 385. 

Alderia modesta found on salt marshes, 
34. 

Alvan Clark on the sun and stars, 465. 

Amphipodous crustaceans, 30. 

Amplification, best mode of obtaining, 
329. 

Anabas, the climbing, 145. 

Anacalypta mosses, 8. 

Anacharis, the, in flower, 466. 

Anesthetics, new, 305. 

Anchoring mollusks, 215. 

Ancient habitations in Anglesea, 224. 

Andes, new pass over the, 383. 

Angle of aperture, advantages of, 329. 

Anglesea, ancient habitations in, 224, 

Aniline yellow, and aniline blue, 145. 

Animal creation, power of God in, 
456. 

Animalcules, escape of, from freezing 
to death, 53. 

Animalcules, natural history of hairy 
backed, 387. 

Animals, grafting, 385. 

Annelids, enmity between Corophium 
and, 29. 

ANTHROPOLOGICAL SocreTy. — The 
theory of natural selection as applied 
to the human races, 223. 

Antozone, ozone and, 306. 

Ants, white, in St. Helena, 62. 

Aphanomyces spores, 149. 

Apple mosses, 258. 


VOL. V.—NO. VI. 


ARCHEOLOGICAL InsTiTUTE.—Ancient 
habitations in Anglesea, 224. 

Archives of medicine, 375. 

Are different bodies luminous at the 
same temperature ? 65. 

Arenarie found in salt marshes, 27, 

Armadillidium, habits of, 31. 

Armstrong guns, 119. 

Art, the functions of, 356. 

Artificial islands in Irish lakes, 171. 

Artificial rainbow, 146. } 

Artillery experiments}113. 

Ascent of Mr. Glashier, 66. 

Ascobolus, beautiful species of, 1. 

Asplanchna, voracity of the, 182. 

Aster tripolium, 27. 

Astronomical soirée, 464. 

AsTRONOMY.—We never see the stars, 
47 ; clusteraand nebule, 54; double 
star, 58; the great nebula in Orion, 
58 ; comparison of sun and stars, 60; 
occultation, 62; the midnight sun, 
95; aerolites with low velocities, 
123; constancy of solar light and 
heat, 129; clusters and nebule, 138; 
double stars, 138 ; occultations, 140; 
shooting stars in the two hemi- 
spheres, 145; the moon, 193; 
planets of the month, 206; double 
star, 206; occultations, 206 ; star- 
following with table stands, 290; 
solar observation, 292; transits of 
Jupiter’s satellites, 299; the earth 
as seen from the moon, 324; star- 
following, 338 ; Gautier on the phy- 
sical constitution of the sun, 345; 
neighbourhood of the lunar spot, 
Mare crisium, 359 ; transits of Jupi- 
ter’s satellites, 3868; occultations, 
368; solar observation, 434; colours 
of stars, 436; constitution of nebule, 
443; transits of Jupiter's satellites, 
443 ; Romsey Observatory, 445. 

Astronomy, outlines of, 455. 

Atmosphere, our, and the ether of 
space, 211. 

Atriplex, species of, on salt marshes, 
27 


Aurotype, the, 237. " 
Australia, ethnology of, 141. 
It 


468 


Automatic weighing at the Royal Mint, 
72. 

Azimuth of the sun, explanation of an, 
168. 


Banocrarn at Kew, 323. 

Barometers, testing, 320. 

Bartramia pomiformis and other species 
of apple moss, 263. 

Batrachoepermum, specimen of, 13. 

Beale on blood corpuscles, 65. 

Belgian aerolites, 123. 

Birds gregarious in winter, 20. 

Birds in suburbs of London, 17. 

Blood corpuscles, Beale on, 65. 

Blood corpuscles, shape of, 273. 

Blood corpuscles, white, 64. 

Blood, entozoa in human, 142. 

Blood, germinal matter in the, 272. 

Blue, aniline, 145. 

Boletus, genera res2mbling, 2 

Bolide of May 14th, 466. 

Bones found in Swiss lakes, 175 

Bones imported for manure, 275. 

Borany.—A new British fungus, 1; 
the mosses Anacalypta and Pottia, 8; 
mosses Grimmia and Schistidium, 
106; the extinguisher mosses, 207 ; 
eycads, 246; mosses to be found in 
May, cord mosses, apple mosses, 
258; lessons on elementary botany, 
378 ; the side-fruiting mosses, 410. 

Bowenia spectabilis, 249. 

Bows and arrows inconvenient in war, 
114. 

Brain, how it does its work, 136. 

Bright’s disease,use of electricity in,465. 

British fungus, a new, 1. 

British mollusca, dentition of, 67. 

Bronze age, antiquity of the, 177. 

Bronze coins, weights and dimensions 
of, 78. 

Bruniquel, human fossils found at, 65. 

Bruniquel, human remains in the 
cavern of, 463 

Bufo calamita (natterjack) in Treland, 
227. 

Byesus of mussel, importance of, 216. 


Capp1s worm, the, and its houses, 
307. 

Caddis flies, eges of, 16. 

Cage birds, curious, 19. 

Calcium, preparation of, 221. 

Calenas Nicobarica (Nicobar pigeon), 
349. 

Calotype, 234. 

Canada baleam, for mounting, 330. 

Cape de la Heve, electrical light at, 146. 

Carbon modifies the character of iron, 
421. 


Index. 


Carbon process in photography, 237. 

Carbonic acid in the air of Manchester, 
141. 

Carinaria shells, high price of, 215. 

Case hardening by : arsenic, 424, 

Cases of the Caddis worm, 307. 

Cast iron, 422; mending broken, 423. 

Catylissotype, the, 238. 

Catoscopium nigritum (moss), 267. 

Cercaria podura, 388. 

Cercopithecus fuliginosus, entozoa in 
blood of, 143, 

Cerebellum, functions of the, 384. 

Cheetonotus, description of the oon 
390, 

Cheetonotide, natural history of, 387. 

Cheap observatory, 241. 

China rose near London, 19. 

Chironomus plumosus, 15. 

Chiton discrepans, dentition of, 70. * 

Chrysotype, 237. 

Ciliary stomach currents of Asplanchna, 
184. 

Cinclus aquaticus (water blackbird), 19. 

Circulation, viewing a tadpole, 386. 

Clavaria vermicularis (fungus), 2. 

Climbing anabas, 145. 

Climacium dendroides (moss), 418. 

Climate of the moon, 459. 

Clupea harengus (herri ing), 368. 

Codfish and other enemies of herrings, 
370. 

Colours of stars, 436. 

Collodion process, moist, 235; dry, 236, _ 

Collins’ binocular microscope, 225. 

Comets IV. and V., 1863," common 
origin of, 304. 

Comets whose orbits have Me: been cal- 
culated, 218, 373. 

Comets’ tails, deviation of, 465. 

Condensation of vapours, 432. 

Confervee in ice, 51. 

Conferyee, molecular motion in, 271, 

Conus gloria-maris shells, high price 
of, 216. 

Coing, weights 
British, 78 

Copan, ruins of, 38. 

Copper coinage, old, 78. 

Coprolites, a source of phosphate of 
lime, 276. 

Corals, fossil, of the West Indies, 380. 

Cord mosses, 258. ‘ 

Corophium longicorne in salt marshes, 
29. 


and dimensions of 


Cothurnian, 340. 

Crangon vulgaris (common shrimp), 82. 

Cray-fish, artificial breeding of, 355. * 

Crime, insanity and, 181. 

Crithmum maritimum (samphire), 26. 
| Crocodile, great, of the — sn 


Index. 


Crossbill, 24. 

Crustacea, hearing of, 305, 

Cryptogamia, 1. 

Cuba, fecundity in, 306. 

Cycads, 246. 

Cycas revoluta, cultivated at Dresden, 
201. 

Cylindrothecium Montagnei 
418. 

Cyprideis torosa on salt marshes, 31. 

Cyprea Europa, teeth of, 67. 

Cystopus, active spores of, 148, 

Cythere, beauties of, 32. 


(moss), 


DAGUERREOTYPE, 157. 

Daguerreotype process, 233. 

Dasydytes, description of the genus, 
399 


Daylight, continuous, 101. 
Days, unequal, in different latitudes, 
98. 


De la Rue’s astronomical soirée, 464, 

Dentition of British mollusca, 67. 

Desmids, swarming process of, 271. 

Dichelyma capillaceum and _ other 
species described, 4.11. 

Diduneulus, or little Dodo, 346. 

Difflugian rhizopods, variations in, 
304. 

Dion edule, starch from, 252. 

Discelium nudum (naked apple moss), 
268. 

Disease, deficiency of vital power in, 
375. 

Distoma hematobium, ova of, 1 43 

Dodo, the little, 346. 

Dreissena polymorpha (mussel), 315, 


Eaa@te, keen sight of the, 49. 

Earth, our, difference between its 
phases and those of the moon, 326. 

Earth, size and figure of the, 384. 

Earth, the, as seen from the moon, 324. 

Earthquake\at Mendoza, 20th March, 
1861, 85. 

Earthquake in Sussex, 385. 

Echinodera, description of the genus, 
403. 

Education of spiders, 146. 

Egg Oi and their relatives, 
14 


Electrical light at Cape de la Heve, 
146, 

Electricity in Bright’s disease, use of, 

Encalypta vulgaris (moss), 207; species 
of described, 208. 

Encaustic photography, 241, 

Encephalartos Caffer, 24:7. 

Encephalous animals, 67. 

Enfield rifles, 116, 


469 


Engraving, Vial’s process of, 226. 

Entomo.ocicaL Socrery.—Introdue- 
tion of white ants into St. Helena, 
62; probable new source of silk, 
148 ; artificial modification of wasps’ 
nests and intelligence in the honey 
bee, 462. 

Entomostraca of salt marshes, 31. 

Entozoa in the human blood, 142. 

Equatoreals, portable, 166. 

Escape from the earthquake of Men- 
doza, 89. 

Essential oils, preparation of, 63. 

Ether of space and our atmosphere, 211, 

Erunotoaican Socrety.—The varie- 
ties of man in the Indian Archipelago, 
141; on the ethnology of Australia, 
141. 

Ethnology of Australia, 141. 

Euglena pyrum in the stomach of As- 
planchna, 183. 

Exogenous seeds and fern spores, 333. 

Explosion at Liverpool, 66. 

Eye-pigce, Dawes’s solar, 434. 


Facts about iron, 419. 

Fairbairn on iron girders, 304. 

Febrile cepbalalgia, cure of, 466 

February, mosses found during, 8. 

Fecundity in Cuba, 306. 

Fermentation, new facts in, 149. 

Fern spores, 333. 

Ferns, characteristic feature of, 247. 

Fieldfares, 23. 

Fire-arms and the laws of motion, 
113. 

Fish eggs, eedogonium infesting, 147. 

Fish eggs, parasites infesting, 147. 

Fish in upper limestone, 380. 

Fishes, discovery of poison organs in, 
253. 

Fishes of the British islands, Couch’s 
history of, 5. 

Flint implements at Stroud, 381. 

Flint implements found in Switzerland, 
170. 

Flint implements from Syria, 306. 

Flint implements in drift deposits in 
Hants and Wilts, 222. 

Fontinalis antipyretica 
species, 271, 411. 

Fossil corals of the West Indian 
islands, 380. 

Fossils from the Lingula flags, 299. 

Fossils, human, 65. 

Four-horned trunk fish, a native of 
England, 407. 

Freestone’s mounting table, 332. 

Frog, construction of nerve cells of, 375. 

Frost inthe summer of 1864, 425. 

Fry of herring, habits of the, 369. 


and other 


470 


Full moon always opposite the sun, 101. 

Funaria hygrometrica and other species 
of cord moss, 258. 

Fungi, active spores amongst, 148. 

Fungi, to dress for table, 3. 

Fungus, a new British, 1. 


GAMMARACANTHUS loricatus identical 
with marine crustacea, 33. 

Gammarus cancelloides identical with 
marine crustacea, 33. 

Gammarus found on salt marshes, 30. 

Gases, action of porcelain and lavas 
on, 226. 

Gasteropods, 67. 

Gasterosteus aculeatus (stickleback), 4. 

Gautier on the physical constitution of 
the sun, 345. 

General Jacob’s rifles, 117. 

Generation, spontaneous, committee, 
145. 


Gerotogican Socirety.—The Permian - 


rocks of the North-west of England, 
144; succession of British Mesozoic 
strata, 222; recent discoveries of 
flint implements in drift deposits in 
Hants and Wilts, 222; on the dis- 
covery of the scales of pteraspis, 222 ; 
new fossils from the Lingula flags, 
299; the silicious springs in the 
Nevada territory, 299; the red rock 
at Hunstanton, 300; discovery of 
fish in upper limestone of Permian 
formation, 380; the fossil corals of 
West Indian islands, 380; mamma- 
lian remains near Thame, 381; de- 
posit at Stroud containing flint im- 
plements, etc., 381; on the geological 
structure of the Malvern Hills, 462. 

Geological structure of the Malvern 
Hills, 462. 

Germinal matter in the blood, 272. 

Germs of infusoria, 225. 

Ghosts everywhere and of any colour, 


Ghosts optical, 34, 

Glashier’s 12th January ascent, 66. 

Glashier’s 18th ascent, 386. 

Glass, albumenized, 235. 

GJaux maritima in salt marshes, 26. 

Gold coins, weights and dimensions of, 
78. 

Gold-crowned wren in winter, 21. 

Gold weighing at the Mint, 72. 

Grafting animals, 385. 

Greenfinches in Stepney, 24. 

Green ice, 51. 

Green sand, a source of phosphate of 
lime, 277. 

Grimmia, species of, 106, 

Grosbeak, 24. 


— 


Index. 


Guano, 275. ' 

Gun cotton, discoveries respecting its 
properties, 302. ; 

Gun cotton, mechanical effects of, 457. 

Gunpowder unsurpassed for firearms, 
122. 

Guns and projectiles, 113. 

Guns, story of the, 114, 


Hatt, conical, 385. 

Hants, flint implements in, 222. 
Harvest finches, 18. 

Hawks, keen sight of, 49. 
Hearing of crustacea, 305. 

Heat consideredas a mode of motion,52. 
Heat, constancy of solar, 129; of 
meteors, 130. ~. 

Heat of aerolites, 124. 

Heat, tables of, in May and June, 426, 

Heavenly bodies, remoteness of, 242. 

Heliography, 238. 

Heliochromy, 240. 

Heliography, term suggested for pho- 
tography, 150. 

Helix pomatia, teeth of, 71. 

Herring, on the, 368. 

Herrings, curious reasons for their dis- 
appearance, 372. 

Herrings, their numerous enemies, 370. 

Ilerodotus, statements of, confirmed, 
174. 

Homes without hands, 352. 

Honey bee, intelligence in the, 462. 

Hooping cough, cure for, 286. 

Human blood, entozoa in, 142. 

Human fossils from Bruniquel, 65, 463. 

Human races, natural selection and 
the, 223, 

Hunstanton, red rock at, 300. 

Hydnum imbricatum and other species, 


Hypnum delicatulum and other species 
described, 414. 


Tor, formation of thick, 386. 

Ice, green, 51. 

Ichthydium, description of the genus, 
392. 

Images, enlarging in photography, 238. 

Implements and ornaments found in 
Switzerland, 170. 

Inertia, the term, gives a fulse idea, 187. 

Indian Archipelago, varieties of man in 
the, 141. 

Indiom, properties of the metal, 381. 

Industrial education of spiders, 146. 

Infusoria, germs of, 225. 

Infusoria, molecular motion in, 272. 

Injection of oxygen into veins, 146, 

Insanity and crime, 131. 

Insects, larval reproduction in, 306. 


Index. 


Intelligence in. the honey bee, 462. 
Iodide of potassium a test for ozone,160. 
Tron, facts about, 419. 

Iron girders, Fairburn on, 304. 
Tronwork at Nineveh, 420. 

Isothecium alopecurum (moss), 418. 


Kew Observatory, 318. 


Lacustrine dwellings, 175. 

Lake dwellings in Asia, 179. 

Lake habitations of Switzerland, an- 
cient, 170. 

Larval reproduction in insects, 306. 

Lavas, action of, on gases, 216. 

Lead rings for microscope slides, 66. 

Light, constancy of solar, 129 ; of me- 
teors, 130. 

Light of stars compared, 385. 

Light of the sun and stars, origin of 
the, 448. 

Limapontia slug found on salt marshes, 

Limax marginatus, teeth of, 71. 

Limestone, discovery of fish in, 380. 

Linaria pusilla (redpole), 24. 

Lingula flags, new fossils from the, 299. 

Linnean Socrety.—On the pheno- 
mena of variation as illustrated by 
the Malayan Papilionide, 300. 

Living bodies,molecular motions in,269. 

Liverpool, explosion at, 66. 

Lobsters, artificial breeding of, 355. 

Lonvon Institutron.—Sources of the 
Nile, 63. 

Lonpon Microscorican Socrery.— 
On white blood corpuscles, 64. 

- London, birds in the suburbs of, 17. 

Longevity, effects of open-air exercise 
on, 221. 

Loxia chloris (greenfinch), 24. 

Luminosity of different bodies, 65. 

Lunar craters, recently named, 64. 

Lunatic asylums, remedial treatment 
in, 133. 

Imunar influence on the weather, 378. 


MacrozaMia spiralis, nuts of, 251. 

Magnetographs at Kew, 322. 

Magnetic experiments, new, 460. 

Magnetic needle, observations made at 
Kew, 323. 

Magnus on the condensation of va- 
pours, 432. 

Malvern Hills, geological structure of 
the, 462. 

Mammalian remains near Thame, 381. 

MancuHEsteR PuHinosopnican So- 
oO1ETY.—On the amount of carbonic 
acid existing in the air of Manchester, 
141; preparation of caicium, 221. 


A71 


Manchester, carbonic acid in the air of, 
141. 

Manuring, when first understood, 273. 

Meat, preservation of, 146, 301. 

Mechanical effects of gun cotton, 457. 

Medicine, archives of, 375. 

Metals at high temperature, permea- 
bility of, 226. 

Memory, loss of, 66. 

Mendoza, earthquake at, 85. 

Meteorological observations made at 
Kew Observatory, 40, 284. 

Meteors, light and heat of, 130. 

Mesozoic strata, succession of British, 
222. 

Microscopy.—Lead rings forslides, 66; 
microscopical soirée at Apothecaries’ 
Hall, 463. 

Microscopic soirée at Apothecaries’ 
Hall, 463. 

Microscope, Collins’ binocular, 225. 

Microscope, a windfall for the, 13. 

Microscopic literature, recent, 328. 

Microcoleus anguiformis in 
marshes, 29. 

Midnight sun, 95. 

Milan, strange weather fact at, 66. 

Millepora reticulata (fungus), 2. 

Minie rifles, 116. 

Minstrels of the winter, 17. 

Mistletoe near London, 19. 

Missel thrush, 19. 

Molecular motions in living bodies, 
269. 

Mollusca, dentition of British, 67. 

Mollusca, cultivation of, 354. 

Mollusca, obtaining palates of, 305. 

Mollusks, anchoring, 215. 

Moon, temperature and climate of the, 
459; earth as seen from, 324. 

Moon, 193; index map of the, 190. 

Moen, possible action of the, 226. 

Motacilla troglodytes (wren), 22. 

Moth of the ordeal bean, 385. 

Motion, laws of, exhibited by fire-arms, 
113. 

Motion, heat considered as a mode of, 
52. 

Moss, favourite habitats of, 268. 

Mosses found in May, 258. 

Mosses, the extinguisher, 207. 

Mosses—Anacalypta and Pottia, 8. 

Mosses—Grimmia and Schistidium, 
106. 

Mosses, the side fruiting, 410. 

Mount Chamblon, ancient dwellings 
of, 178. 

Mountain finch, 24. 

Mounting in Canada balsam, 331. } 

Mountain linnet in winter, 24, 

Mounting, new table for, 64. 


salt 


472 


Musket, advantages of, over the bow,114 
Mussel, how does it spin its byssus, 217. 
Mytilus edulis (mussel), 218. 

Mysis vulgaris in brackish water, 32. ° 
Myxogastres, active spores of, 148. 


Nartrca, teeth of, 67. 

Natterjack toad in Ireland, 227. 

Natural selection applied to the human 
races, 223. 

Natural history, recreations in, 351. 

Negative evidence, illustration of, 145. 

Nerve cells of the frog, 875. ~ 

Nest of sticklebacks, 4. 

Neuroptera, 307. 


Nevada territory, silicious springs in, 


299. 
Nights, unequal, in different latitudes, 
98 


Nile, sources of the, 63. 

Nile, lecture on the sources of the, 
378. 

Nile, the, in early ages, 146. 

Nitrogen, chief sources of, 274. 

North Cape on a June midnight, 105. 

Nostoe, 13. 

Notes and memoranda, 64, 145, 225, 
304, 383, 465. 


Oak, silk-forming larva feeding on, 1438. 

Oak, silkworms of the, 384. 

Observatory, the Romsey, 445. 

Observatory, acheap, 241. 

C2dogonium infesting eggs of fish, 147. 

Oogonium, origin of the term, 149. 

Oolite, great crocodile of the, 385. 

Oils, preparation of essential, 63. 

Open-air exercise and longevity, 221. 

Optical ghosts, 34, 

Optical properties of organic bodies, 
223. 

Ordeal bean, moth of the, 385. 

Ordnance, rifled, 120. 

Organic bodies and their optical pro- 
perties, 223. 

Ornaments, ancient, found in Switzer- 
land, 170. 

Orthotrichum diaphanum, 261. 

Oscillatoria in ice, 51. 

Oscillatoria found on salt marshes, 28. 

Oscillation, phenomenon of, 28. 

Ostracion quadricornis (four-horned 
trank fish), 408. 

Oxygen, views of Clausius on, 306, 

Oxygen in veins, injection of, 146, 

Oysters, cultivation of, 354. 

Ozone and antozone, 306. 

Ozone and ozone tests, 160, 

Ozone, production of, 305. 


PaatTEs of mollusca, obtaining, 305, 


Index. 


Paleemon varians in brackish water, — 
32. 
Pzeonians, an ancient race called, 174, 
Paper, albumenized, 234; waxed, 235. 
Papilionide, phenomena of variation 
in, 300, 
Parasites, egg, and their relatives, 147, 
Pass, new, over the Andes, 383. 
Patella athletica, teeth of, 70. 
Pedicle of lamp shell, importance of 
cables of, 216. 
Pen y llwyn, Welsh name for missel 
thrush, 20. 
Perches, poison organs in, 253. 
Peronospora, active spores of, 148, 
Permian rocks of the north-west of 
England, 144, : 
Permeability of metals, 226. 
Pernis on the coast of Saintonge, 30. 
Peziza, genera resembling, 2. 
PHARMACEUTICAL SocieTy.—Prepara- 
tion of essential oils, 63. 
PuoroaraPny. —Its history, position, 
and prospects—Part I. History of 
photography, 153. 
Photographic processes, 233. 
Photographic engraving, 239. 
Photographs, coloration of, 239. 
Photolithography, 239. 
Photoheliograph ai Kew, 328. 
Photography with textile fabrics, 237, 
Phosphates used in agriculture, 273. 
Phryganeidee (Caddis flies), 16. 
Physical science, foundations of, 185, 
Pig iron, 422. 
Pile works of the Swiss lakes, 171. 
Pisciculture, study of, 7. 
Planet, the 80th, 306. 
Planorbis albus, teeth of, 71. 
Plantago, species of, on salt marshes, 
27 


\ 


Platinotype, the, 237. 

Platycerium alcicorne (fern), 335, 

Podophrya ovata and pyriformis, 344. 

Poison, insensibility to, 385. 

Poison orguns in fishes, discovery of,253,. 

Pollen, conservation of, 465. 

Polytrichum hereynicum, 11. 

Pontoporeia affinis identical with ma- 
rine crustacea, 33. 

Porcelain_and lavas, action of, on gases, 
226. 

Porcellio, habits of, 31. 

Portable equatoreals, 166. 

Potamageton eaten by cows, 19. 

Potash, new source of, 225. 

Pottia mosses and species described, 11. 

Power of God in the animal creation, 
456, 

Proceedings of Learned Societies, 62, 
141, 221, 299, 380, 457. 


Index. 


Procyon, companion of, 304. 
Projectiles, guns and, 113. 

Prteraspis, discovery of the scales of, 222. 
Pulse, action of tobacco on the, 466. 
Pythium spores, 149. 


Raryegow, artificial,146. 
Recreations in natural history, 351. 
Redpoles in Stepney, 24. 

Red rock at Hunstanton, 300. 


Registration of the movements of 
wind, 126. 

Regulus aurocapillus (gold crowned 
wren), 22. 


Reindeer period, sculpture of the, 304. 

Responsibility defined by English law, 
133. 

Rhizina undulata (fungus), 1. 

Rhizopods, variations in, 304. 

Rice grains on the sun, 300. 

Rifles, 115. 

. Robin singing in winter, 21. 

Romsey Observatory, the, 445. 

Rose book, 456. 

Round projectiles not the best, 115. 

Roya Gerocrapnican Socrery.—A 
new discovered low pass over the 
Andes in Chili, 383. 

Roya Socrery.—Human remains in 
the Cavern of Bruniquel, 463. 

Roya Instrrutroy.—Vhe discrimi- 
nation of organic bodies by their 

, optical properties, 223; recent dis- 
coveries respecting the properties of 
gun-cotton, 302; properties of the 
new metal Indium, 881; on the 
mechanical effects of gun-cotton 
457 ; temperature and climate of the 
moon, 459; new magnetic experi- 
ments, 460. 

Royat Mrpican anp Cnrrruretcan 
Socrety.—Kntozoa in the human 
blood, 142. 

Ruins at Mendoza, 85. 

Ruins of Copan, 38. 


Sat marshes and their inhabitants, 26. 
Salvin’s photographs of Copan, 39. 
Nalicornia herbacea in salt marshes, 26. 
Saprolegnia, spores of, 148. 

Saxby’s weather system, 378. 


Saprolegnia ferax, various forms of, 147. | 


Schistidium (moss) species of, 112. 

Science, founcations of physical, 185. 

Sciences, classification of the, 379. 

Sculpture of the reindecr period in 
France, 304, 

Sea lavender, habitat of the, 27. 

Sea catchfly on salt marshes, 27. 

Seed, description ofa perfect, 833, 

Seeds, exogenous, 333. 


A738 | 


Shells found at Stroud, 381. 

Shell mounds on the Danish coast, 11. 

Shots, penetrating power of, 120. 

Shot stars, 13. 

Shooting stars at Rome, 211. 

Shooting stars in the two hemispheres, 
145. 

Shrimp, opposum, 33. 

Shrimps in brackish water, 32. 

Silene maritima (sea catchfly), 27. 

Silktail, 24. 

Silk, probable new source of, 148. 

Silk-producing insects, 352. 

Silkworms, diseases of, 352. 

Silkworms of the oak, 384. 

Silicious springs in the Nevada terri- 
tory, 299. 

Silver, action of light on the salt of, 151. 

Silver, automatic weighing of, 72. 

Silver coims, weights and dimensions 
of, 78. 

Sirius, companions of, 384. 

Sirius, Struve on the companion of, 465. 

Snow fall and wind storms, 65. 

Snow in May, 1864, 425. 

Snow crystals, 279. 

Snowflake, 24. 

Socrzrty or Ants.—Mew method of 
preserving meat, 301. 

Sooty oF Anrs.—New method of 
preserving meat, 301. 

Soils, ingredients of, 274. 

Soler spots, 345. 

Solar light and heat, constancy of, 129. 

Solar observation, 292, 

Sources of the Nile, 63; 378. 

Sparassis crispa (beautiful fungus), 1. 7 

Spectrum analysis with reference to the 
stars, 50. 

Spheeroma, species of, 31. 

Spiders, industrial education of, 146. 

Spiders making carpets, 353. 

Spirulina, oscillation of, 29. 

Spontaneous Generation Committee, 
145, 

Sponge spicules, 66. 

Spores, active, 148. 

Spots on the sun, 450. 

St. Helena, white ants in, 62. 

Starch a test for ozone, 160. 

Stangeria paradoxa, seeds of, 248. 

Statk’s Anacalypta moss, 8. 

Stars, shooting, in the two hemisphetés, 
145. 

Star following with table stands, 290. 

Star-following, 338. 

Stars, Alvan Clark on the, 465. 

Stars, colours of, 436. 

Stars, comparing the light of, 385. 

Stars, origin of the light of the, a 

Stars, we never’see the, 47, 


474, 


Statice limonium (sea lavender), 27. 

SratisticaL Society. — Effects of 
open-air exercise on longevity, 221. 

Sted, 421, 

Stereum, a genus of fungi, 2. 

Sticklebacks, curious habits of, 4. 

Stomach currents of the asplanchna, 
182. 

Stone age, antiquity of the, 177. 

Storm-cock, habits of the, 20. 

Storms and snow fall, 65. 

Struve on the companion of Sirius, 465. 

Sulphate of ammonia for manure, 274, 

Sun, Alvan Clark on the, 465. 

Sun, origin of the light of the, 448. 

Sun, spots on the, 450. 

Sun, surface of the, 383. 

Sun, the midnight, 95. 

Sun, willow leaves on the, 305. 

Sun, physical constitution of the, 345, 

Surgical accident, a strange, 306. 

Surface of the sun, 383. 

Swiss rifles, 116. 

Switzerland, ancient lake habitations 
of, 170. 

Syria, flint implements from, 306. 


TABLE for heating slides, new, 64. 
Tablestands, star-following with, 290 
Tadpole circulation, viewing, 386. 
Taphrocampa, description of the genus, 


Teeth of gasteropods, 67. 

Telescope stands, importance of good, 
339. 

Temperature and climate of the moon, 
459. 


Temple Anecdotes, 456, 
Terebratulide (lamp shells), 216. 
Thalassophryne reticulata, poison 


organs of, 256. 
Thelephora, a genus of fungi, 2. 
Thermometer, to construct a, 321. 
Thrift, where it best flourishes, 27. 
Tinea punctata a silk-spinner, 353. 
Toad, natterjack, in Ireland, 227. 
Tobacco, its action on the pulse, 466. 
Toning-bath for albumen process, 385. 
Trachinus vipera (sting-fish), 253. 
Trawl fishing, destruction caused by, 
371, 
Tremella nostoc, 13. 
Trochus, dentition of, 69. 
Trunk-fish, the four-horned, 407. 
Turbanella, description of the genus, 
402 


Turbellaria, generic distinctions of, 388. 
Turdus pilaris (fieldfare thrush), 23. 
Turdus viscivorous (missel thrush), 20. 


UNIVERSAL science, essays on, 378, 


Index. 


Utilization of Minute Life, 325. 


Vapours, condensation of, 432, ~ 
Variation, phenomena of, 300. 
Variations in difflugian rhizopods, 
304, 
Varieties of man in the Indian Archi- 
pelago, 141. 
Varnish for microscopic objects, 332. 
Vaucheria found on salt marshes, 27. 
Veins, injection of oxygen into, 146. 
Venus as a crescent, seeing, 305. 
Vial’s process of engraving, 226. 
Vision, differences of, 48. 
Vital power, on deficiency of, in dis- 
ease, 375. 
Voracity of the asplanchna, 182. 
Vortex worms, description of, 388. 


Wasps, habits of, 465. 
Wasps’ nests, artificial modification of, 
462. 
Wasps’ nests, curious collection of, 143. 
Water blackbird, 19, 
Water, molecular motion in, 271. 
Water-ousel a favourite cage-bird, 19. 
Waxed paper, to prepare, 235. 
Weather fact at Milan, strange, 66. 
Weather, lunar influence on the, 378. 
Weather, remarkable, of 1864, 425. 
Weather system, Saxby’s, 378. 
Weevers, peculiarity in dorsal fin of, 
254. 
Woes machines used at the Mint, 
2 


White ants in St. Helena, introduction 

. of, 62. 

Whitworth rifles, 116. 

Willow leaves on the sun, 805. 

Wilts, flint implements, 222. 

Wind and its direction, 125. 

Wind storms, 65. 

Wind, hourly movement of the, 41, 
285. 

Windfall for the microscope, 12. 

Winter, minstrels of the, 17. 

Witch-butter, 13. 

Woodlark singing in winter, 21. 

Works of art in Danish peat- mosses, 
wy. 

Wren singing in winter, 21. 


YELuLow aniline, 145. 


ZaMIA tenuis, starch from, 252. 

Zinco-photography, 239. 

Zootoay.—Observations on the three 
spined stickleback, 4; on the her- 
ring, 368; history of the hairy- 
backed animalcules, 387. 

Zonitea cellarius, teeth of, 71. 


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